Italian sculptor, part of a family of sculptors and architects. They were active in the 15th and the early 16th century. One of the most important and extensive family dynasties in Italian Renaissance sculpture, the Bregni came from the village of Righeggia, near Osteno on Lake Lugano. Active primarily in northern Italy (Lombardy, Emilia, and the Veneto), a few Bregni also worked in central Italy. Several Bregno artists are documented, although the precise familial relationship between most of them is still unclear. The most important artists in the family were Antonio Bregno, Andrea Bregno, Giovanni Battista Bregno and Lorenzo Bregno.
Together with his brother Lorenzo Bregno, Giovanni Battista had a large workshop in Venice during the first years of the 16th century. Modern scholarship has elevated his status from that of a forgotten figure to that of one of the foremost Venetian sculptors of his generation. Nothing is known of his career before 1499, although many scholars consider it probable that he was trained in the workshop of Tullio Lombardo during the 1490s. His first documented commission was for the Beltiguoli Altar (1499-1503) in S Nicolò, Treviso. In 1502 Bregno received the commission to execute a low reliefGLOSSARYA sculptural work in which all or part projects from the flat surface. There are three basic forms: low relief (bas-relief, basso rilievo), in which figures project less than half their depth from the background; medium relief (mezzo-rilievo), in which figures are seen half round; and high relief (alto rilievo), in which figures are almost detached from their background. for the chapelGLOSSARYa small separate place for worship, either part of a large church or a separate building. of St Anthony in the basilicaGLOSSARYa church building, usually facing east, with a tall main nave and two or four side aisles of lesser height. There may also be a transept between the nave and the choir, which is reserved for the clergy. Originally, the basilica was an ancient Greek administrative building, and the Romans used this form for markets and law courts; it then became a place of assembly for the early Christians, and thus a church. of Il Santo, Padua. While he did not execute the work, receipt of this commission suggests that he must already have achieved some degree of notoriety and maturity as a sculptor.
A major obstacle to understanding Bregno's art is the problem of attribution - involving a small corpus of works - to Giovanni Battista or to Lorenzo. The most important commission in Bregno's brief career was the decoration of the chapel of the Holy Sacrament in Treviso CathedralGLOSSARYThe principal church of a province or diocese, where the throne of the bishop is placed. For reasons lost to time and tradition, a cathedral always faces west - toward the setting sun. The altar is placed at the east end. The main body, or nave, of the cathedral is usually divided into one main and two side aisles. These lead up to the north and south transepts, or arms of the cross, the shape in which a cathedral is usually formed.. In addition to executing the pavement and steps leading to the chapel (1504-08), Bregno was also commissioned to carve a Risen Christ (1506-08), two Adoring Angels and a figure of St Peter (all completed by December 1509). Additional work for the chapel commissioned from Giovanni Battista was apparently completed by Lorenzo. Bregno's figures for Treviso demonstrate a lightness and delicate movement that recall the sculpture of the Lombardo family. The use of contrappostoGLOSSARYAn asymmetrical pose in which the one part of the body is counterbalanced by another about the body's central axis. Ancient Greek sculptors developed contrapposto by creating figures who stand with their weight on one leg, the movement of the hips to one side being balanced by a counter movement of the torso. Contrapposto was revived during the Renaissance and frequently used by Mannerist artist, who developed a greater range of contrapposto poses. in the St Peter, as well as the harmonious drapery patterns that successfully reveal underlying anatomy, indicate Bregno's interest in contemporary classicizing forms. The slightly slender figure of the Risen Christ is quite elegant and highly refined, and characteristically combines a classicalGLOSSARYRelating to the culture of ancient Greece and Rome (classical Antiquity). The classical world played a profoundly important role in the Renaissance, with Italian scholars, writers, and artists seeing their own period as the rebirth (the "renaissance") of classical values after the Middle Ages. The classical world was considered the golden age for the arts, literature, philosophy, and politics. Concepts of the classical, however, changed greatly from one period to the next. Roman literature provided the starting point in the 14th century, scholars patiently finding, editing and translating a wide range of texts. In the 15th century Greek literature, philosophy and art - together with the close study of the remains of Roman buildings and sculptures-expanded the concept of the classical and ensured it remained a vital source of ideas and inspiration. contrapposto with a slight axial twist, attesting to Bregno's great technical skill as a marbleGLOSSARYloosely applied to any hard limestone that can be sawn into thin slabs and will take a good polish so that it is suitable for decorative work; more strictly, it refers to metamorphosed limestones whose structure has been recrystallized by heat or pressure. Marbles are widely disseminated and occur in a great variety of colours and patterns, but certain types have been particularly prized by sculptors. The most famous of Greek white marbles in the ancient world was the close-grained Pentelic, which was quarried at Mount Pentelicon in Attica. The Elgin Marbles are carved in Pentelic. Widely used also were the somewhat coarser-grained translucent white marbles from the Aegean islands of Paros and Naxos. Parian marble was used for the celebrated Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. The pure white Carrara marble, quarried at Massa, Carrara, and Pietra Santa in Tuscany from the 3rd century BC, is the most famous of all sculptors' stones. It was used for the Apollo Belvedere, and was much favoured in the Renaissance, particularly by Michelangelo, who often visited the quarries to select material for his work. Neoclassical sculptors also favoured Carrara marble because of its ability to take a smooth, sleek surface, but it can look rather 'dead' compared with some of the finest Greek marbles. carver and to his indebtedness to the Lombardo family and to Antonio Rizzo.
