Benedetto Antelami

Benedetto Antelami (c. 1150 – c. 1230) was an Italian architect and sculptor of the Romanesque school, whose "sculptural style sprang from local north Italian traditions that can be traced back to late antiquity". He is chiefly known for three carved doorways and the allegorical figures and prophets that decorate the Parma Baptistery.

Life

Little is known about his life. He was probably originally from Lombardy, perhaps born in Val d'Intelvi, near Como or in Genoa, where a group of artists originally from the Intelvi Valley operated in the 12th century. "Antelami" is not a surname, but a place-name used to denote skilled workers in sculpture and stone working from the Intelvi Valley just north of Como. It is believed from the Provençal style of his art that he served as an apprentice at the Church of St. Trophime, in Arles.

Parma His earliest recorded work is at Parma Cathedral, where in 1178 he executed a bas-relief of the Deposition from the Cross, originally part of the ambo. His name and the date are inscribed in the work, which, in addition to the Provençal element, shows both classical and Byzantine influence.

Later, in 1196, he worked on the sculptural decoration of the Baptistry of Parma, a building of which he was probably also the architect. at Chartres Cathedral in France in 1213. His trademark is relief carvings emphasizing design by means of drapery details on elongate figures and tight compositions.

The main west door of the St. Mark's Basilica, Venice, is also attributed by some to Antelami or his school, and the current replacement version of the Holy Face of Lucca (the Volto Santo) is likewise ascribed to his circle.