EXPERTISE Dr. FEDERICA GASPARRINI

Maimed on the right hand and the forefinger of the left hand, the San Giovanni Battista in question, is molded with large blocks according to a rhythm of flat surfaces, which can be related to the sculptor's modus operandi.
(who worked in the architecture and restoration field). Montorsoli was born in Tuscany ,and he was Andrea Ferrucci da Fiesole's pupil in Florence, he distinguished himself with great simplicity in which athletic forms stemmed from Alexandrian tradition. They remind us of lacoon 's restoration and match with Michelangelo's heroic lesson, that we can especially find in the Florentine sculptures ,San Cosma ( 1533-1537/1538;Sagrestia Nuo San Lorenzo)and Mosè (1536 Santissima Annunziata).These are the characteristics of the "sub judice"statue, in which Michelangelo's gigantism combined with limb movements of classical origin, appear with a powerful, severe more fitting look than the Rustici's thin silhouette on top of the door of Florentine Baptistry, representing he who, having full knowledge of human and the whole perception of the divine, was the connection between us and the absolute. The Forerunner's theme is, after all, often present in the artist's history ,he was related to it not so much because of its religious calling as Friar Maria's servant, but especially because the Baptist was the ex equo Patron Saint of Florence and Genoa, where in fact the sculptor was working before the assignments in Messina. To remind us of this, beyond "Le Vite" from the patrician Genoese Soprani(1674) later developed by Ratti ( 1768), as well as the Vasari in "La Vita" dedicated to himself (1550) reveals a Baptist carved by Montorsoli, who upon finishing Jacopo Sannazzaro's tomb in Naples ,went to Genoa to transform the presbytery of the San Matteo church ,commissioned by Andrea Doria(1543-1547).
The comparison, because of the Genoese origin of the statue taken into consideration, highlighted more differences than similarities. An excellent morphologic parallelism has been found in the Baptist in Santa Maria dei Servi in Bologna (1558-1562),compared with the statue mentioned ,less detailed especially in the fleece and hair, is experimental. In both cases, the more "Titanic" muscles than the previous Genoese, are well structured; the neck is tense, the eyebrows are raised, with a sharp look, while the dress drops from the shoulder along left side and wrinkles from the waist and the right arm close up around breast: all the characteristics can refer to the full maturity of the artist when, after getting through the early Florentine days, returns with confidence to the heroic Renaissance and Michelangelo's dream.

Federica Gasparrini