|
Mochi was an early representant of the Baroque sculpture. With his dynamic style he can be considered as a forerunner of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. He initiated the transformation of the Renaissance equestrian statues into the more dynamic Baroque type. His two works, the equestrian statues of Ranuccio and Francesco Farnese stand in the main square of Piacenza. In the latter the relation of the horse and rider is very well resolved.
When in 1612 the Piacenza authorities decided to set up twin equestrian monuments, one to Ranuccio Farnese, the ruling duke, and the other to his father, Alessandro, they did not commission the pupils of Giovanni da Bologna, who held the monopoly for equestrian statues, but called upon the young Tuscan artist Francesco Mochi. After completing the sketches, the artist had a quarrel with the founder and cast the bronzes himself. In the earlier statue of Ranuccio, Mochi is still steeped in Mannerist culture, but in the Alessandro monument he succeeded in breaking new ground, creating a powerful, moving work, whose originality was not grasped by his contemporaries.
|
