Antonio Begarelli and Small-Scale Terracotta Sculpture

Antonio Begarelli is probably the most famous and prolific artist of the 16th century in Modena. He was renowned for his graceful and monumental style and for his capacity to translate Raphael into sculpture. This chapter provides a reassessment of Antonio Begarelli’s small-scale sculptural works produced in Emilia Romagna between 1522 and 1544. It offers analyses of Begarelli’s models in order to reflect on the artist’s originality as a sculptor, but also on his keen awareness of contemporary artistic tastes, and his willingness to adapt. This can be seen in his use of white colouring in order to mimic marble when terracotta was falling out of favour, and materials such as bronze and marble were more sought after. The “bianchitura” of Begarelli’s sculptures was one of the features most valued by his contemporaries, so much so that Giorgio Vasari himself wrote that “he gave [to his works] so well the colour of the marble”.