842 massimo favilla, ruggero rugolo, and dulcia meijers
male customers. it is worthwhile to note that the several assistants and
disciples she had were almost all women, trained in this very style and
technique of pastels (Fig. 22.9).
Sculpture performed an important role in adorning churches and pal-
aces or in complementing the decorations of interiors. this medium pre-
sented less overpowering personalities in this time period if compared
to painting, but were, on average, of high quality. the Bellunese andrea
Brustolon stands out here.83 He distinguished himself specifically in the
carving of wood. in style, his elaborately chiseled furniture, frames, and
statues seamlessly blend in with the ostentatious surroundings of the
above-described interiors of Venetian palaces. the combination of dif-
ferent kind of woods in the same work accounts for a coloristic effect.
and what an eye for variations in detail he showed! Giuseppe torretti
should be mentioned as well. Like Brustolon, he bridges the Seicento
and Settecento; and his most important patrons were the Manin family,
who produced the last doge.84 His style was characterized by a baroque
taste tempered by classical tendencies solidified after a trip to rome. the
Assumption group that crowns the gable of the façade of the church of
the Gesuiti, dominated by the clapping wings of the triumphant angels,
is a noticeable example and cannot be overlooked when approaching the
Fondamente nove by vaporetto.
a more delicate style was inaugurated by the slightly younger Corra-
dini. His almost virtuoso ease in the handling of stone can be admired
in an allegorical bust of a veiled woman on display in the Ca’rezzonico,
the museum dedicated to the 18th century. He challenged the material of
marble by making the veil look truly transparent. His career had taken
him to several central european countries and concluded in naples,
where he executed a large part of his oeuvre.85 those sculptors belonging
to the next generation operated overall in a style that clearly yielded to
the rococo taste, like Morlaiter, whose reliefs and statues were requested
in stone. His medium and his style successfully matched up with, for
83 exh. cat. (Belluno, 2009), Andrea Brustolon 1662–1732 “il Michelangelo del legno,” ed.
anna Maria Spiazzi (Milan, 2009).
84 Martina Frank, “Giuseppe torretti al servizio dei Manin,” Memoire storiche fuorigiu
liesi 66 (1986), 65–200; Paola rossi, “Per il catalogo delle opere veneziane di Gisueppe tor-
retti,” Arte documento 13 (1999), 284–89; andrea Bacchi, La scultura a Venezia da Sansovino
a Canova (Milan, 2000).
85 Bruno Cogo, antonio Corradini scultore veneziano 1688–1752 (este, 1996).