SALZILLO, Francisco
Spanish sculptor (b. 1707, Murcia, d. 1783, Murcia).
Spanish sculptor of Italian descent. He was trained by his father, Nicol Salzillo (1672-1727), a Neapolitan sculptor who had settled in Murcia, whose first documented work is dated 1700. Francisco also studied with the Jesuits and was taught drawing and sculpture by the cleric and painter Manuel Senchez ( fl 1731-9). He entered the Dominican Order in Murcia as a novice but left to take charge of his father's studio at the latter's death in 1727. Francisco was assisted by his brothers, Juan Antonio Salzillo and Patricio Salzillo, a priest, and by his sister, Ines Salzillo, who specialized in painting carved religious statues. In 1746 Francisco married Juana Vallejo Martenez, and in 1755 he was appointed escultor y modelista by the municipal government (ayuntamiento) and Inspector to the Inquisition for painting and sculpture in Murcia. In 1763 he established an academy
ID: 63017 Dolorosa 1755 Painted wood Iglesia de Jesus, Murcia The mundane rhetoric in the works of Francisco Salzillo (also spelled Zarcillo) might be interpreted as the expression of a decadence of religious feeling; but in fact it springs from a deep-rooted faith. While yet a child, Francisco Salzillo entered a Dominican monastery as a novice. When he was twenty, he left the monastery to assume direction of the atelier of his father, Vincente Nicolas Salzillo, who died in 1727. Vincente Nicolas had come from Naples to settle in Murcia at the end of the 17th century. Undoubtedly, the breath of Italianism which he brought with him was instrumental in dispelling some of the gravity that the Spanish sculptors typically imparted to their religious works. The workshop of Francisco Salzillo, who was helped by his brothers, was amazingly productive; L?on Bermudez has counted 1,792 works definitely by the master's hand. Artist: SALZILLO, Francisco Painting Title: Dolorosa , 1701-1750 Painting Style: Spanish , sculpture Type: religious
