Francesco Tanadei

Exhibition catalogue. Genio e Maestria. Mobili ed ebanisti alla corte sabauda tra Settecento e Ottocento, Reggia Venaria, 2018, p. 280-281.

Genio e Maestria, Mobili ed ebanisti alla Corte Sabauda tra settecento e ottocento, Venaria Reale, Reggia di Venaria, 2018, cat. 62.

This carved ivory relief on ebony, within an ebonized wooden frame, depicts an Allegory in honour of the King Vittorio Emanuele I of Savoy as patron of the Arts and Letters and celebrates his return to power.

At the centre of the relief, Athena, goddess of Wisdom is pointing to the profiled bust of the King on a pedestal which is positioned below an eagle and the flying winged figure of Fame and the inscription “numquam satis”, “we never learn enough”, from Seneca. A kneeling Cupid positioned in front of the pedestal is seen to be carving the name of the King in gold letters. The frame is decorated with trophies and attributes pertaining to the Arts and Culture under the protection of Vittorio Emanuele I.

An inscription on the back: “N. 25 Kaiserin / Maria Anna / 143” states the ownership of this relief, being that of Maria Carolina of Savoy (1764-1782). A souvenir of her father King Vittorio Emanuele I, she took it with her to Wien when she married the Archduke Ferdinand Augsburg-Lorena (1754-1806), the future Austrian-Hungarian Emperor in 1771. It is not only a masterwork of Neoclassical art, but it also carries immense historical value

This relief showcases the extraordinary technical ability of Francesco Tanadei to carve even the smallest of details and display them within a larger piece and allowing the viewer to appreciate the workmanship to the fullest extent.

Francesco Tanadei (Locarno 1770 – Torino 1828)

Due to his exceptional craftsmanship, Francesco Tanadei was the favourite pupil of Giuseppe Bonzanigo (1745-1820). He perfected his artistry in the workshop of Bonzanigo, who was appointed Royal sculptor of Vittorio Amedeo III in 1787, obtaining important commissions and a salary of 200 lire a year. The fame of the cabinetmaker grew under the Napoleonic regime, but even after the Congress of Vienna, during the Restoration, he maintained his role at the Royal Palaces.

After his apprenticeship, Francesco Tanadei established himself as the most important and reputed carver and artist of virtuosic luxury microsculptures, ivory, cameos and jewellery in the Neoclassical style. He worked for the Royal Palace in Turin and he enjoyed the patronage of the Prince Camillo Filippo Ludovico Borghese Governor of Turin (1775-1832) and on the occasion of the visit of Napoleon and Joséphine de Beauharnais in Turin (1805), he exhibited his works of art at the exhibition of “Object d’Art, manufactures et metier” organized to welcome the powerful couple.

Francesco Tanadei as “Sculpteur en ivoire et bois de SAI le Prince Governeur General” to Camillo Borghese, husband of Paolina Bonaparte, played the role of protagonist at the “Salon de Peinture et de Sculpture” of Paris in 1812. In 1815, after the return to power of the Savoy Family, he was appointed “Royal Sculptor of wood and ivory” by the King Vittorio Emanuele I (1759-1824).