Workshop of the Ballanti Graziani, “San Carlo Borromeo in prayer”, polychrome terracotta.

Polychrome terracotta sculpture depicting “Saint Charles Borromeo in prayer”. Ballanti Graziani's workshop, Faenza, first half of the 19th century.
The well-known Faentina workshop was started by Giuseppe Ballanti (1735-1824) known as Graziani, hence the addition of the nickname to the surname starting from the following generation; his sons Giovan Battista (1762-1835) and Francesco (1772-1847) continued. Francesco's son, Giuseppe, died prematurely (1844) and the business was resumed in 1847 by Giovanni Collina, husband of Rosina, daughter of Francesco Ballanti. We believe that the sculpture in question should be traced back to this transition period.

The brothers Giovan Battista and Francesco, who brought the atelier to the height of success, made a trip to Rome in 1824, guests of the painter Tommaso Minardi, and this trip radically changed their style, towards a greater naturalness.

The Ballanti Graziani were particularly active in the main Romagna palaces renovated between the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th.

Their workshop created notable sculptures in stucco, papier-mâché and terracotta, present in the most important palaces and churches in Romagna.

In particular, we like to remember the decorative cycle of the famous Palazzo Milzetti in Faenza, whose entire project was directed by Felice Giani.

The two brothers also collaborated with Gaetano Bertolani. Together with him and Giani, they took care of some work in the church of San Girolamo all'Osservanza, on the occasion of the beatification of Leonardo da Porto Maurizio.

In 1805, on the occasion of Napoleon Bonaparte's imminent visit to Faenza, Giovan Battista worked in collaboration with the architect Giuseppe Pistocchi for the erection of an ephemeral arch in wood, canvas and stucco, again together with Francesco. For a more in-depth analysis of the Faenza workshop, please refer to an essential, and not exhaustive, bibliography:

E. Golfieri, Ennio Golfieri, BALLANTI, Giovan Battista, in Biographical Dictionary of Italians, vol. 5, Rome, Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia, 1963.
S. Dirani, Nineteenth-century Faenza ceramics, Faenza, Faenza publishing group, 1992
M. Vitali, GB Ballanti Graziani, in «Manfrediana. Bulletin of the Municipal Library of Faenza», n. 26-1992, pp. 38-40
S. Cortesi, Faenza sculpture in papier-mâché, 1750-1960: the Ballanti Graziani, the Collina, Vitenè, the Dal Monte and… Giò Ponti, Faenza, Tipografia Faenza, 2012
A. Fogli, Papier-mâché in art, or statues from the pious airs: the masters, techniques and materials of the workshops of Bologna and Faenza from 1700 to 1970, in the late Baroque, neoclassical and purist ways, Ravenna, Studio effe , 2012

Provenance: Faenza, Private Collection.

State of conservation: excellent. Only the color needs a light cleaning.

Certification of authenticity and lawful provenance of the work is issued in accordance with the law.