Descrizione
Storia dell’arte 17, Gennaio – Marzo 1973
Diana Malignaggi
Ignazio Marabitti
The present paper examines the artistic personality of Ignazio Marabitti, one of the major Sicilian sculptors in the 18th century as well as one of the most representative men of that age in Sicily.
First, a critical itinerary of the sculptor is outlined beginning with the first-hand information taken from manuscripts and contemporaneous works; among these, most significant is the book by J. H. Bartels, who visited the island in 1786.
Then, the author examines Marabitti’s journey to Rome and his various cultural experiences there, whose influence clearly appears in his works. Such experiences may be seen not only in the sculpture of Filippo della Valle, to whose school Marabitti belonged, but also in the rich output of the early 18th century Roman sculpture, directed towards a classical turn.
In the outline of the Roman sculpture of the age, the role undertaken by the French sculptors living in Rome is not ignored.
Identifying the cultural sources from which Marabitti drew during his Roman stay, the author examines his whole production, outlining a critical essay. At the same time, the situation of Sicilian culture and society in the first half of the 18th century, is inspected. There follows a catalogue containing Marabitti’s surviving works as well as his lost or destroyed ones. The supplement contains a transcription by the author of a 18th century manuscript by the Macrhese di Villabianca, who had a deep knowledge of the contemporaneous Sicilian art objects.
