Luigi Acquisti

Among them are reliefs of Arco della Pace in Milan; the statue of the Vecchia Legge for the facade of Milan Cathedral; Mars and Venus for the Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo on Lake Como; statues in Palazzo Braschi in Rome; and an Atlanta (c. 1806) for the Villa Belgiojoso Bonaparte in Milan.

Luigi Acquisti studied at Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna. Training under Filippo Balugani and Carlo Bianconi is recorded. Works named in the authority record are Atalanta. Work by Luigi Acquisti is recorded in the collections of Certosa di Bologna, Pinacoteca di Brera, Bologna City Art Collections and Villa Carlotta.

• Name — Luigi Acquisti • Born — 29 March 1747 • Birthplace — Forlì, Emilia Romagna • Died — 4 December 1823 • Place of death — in Bologna, Emilia Romagna • Years Active — 1774-1823

• Illustration — Cane Tago, 1777 Acquisti was still young when he moved to Bologna in order to study at the Accademia Clementina as a student of Filippo Balugani and Carlo Bianconi. He consecutively won the prestigious 1st class Marsili-Aldrovandi prize with his works Enea condotto dalla Sibilla ai Campi Elisi (1774) and Un Romano che rapisce una Sabina (1775). In 1785 he was nominated Academico del Numero in the figurative sculpture class, and in 1780 he became the Direttore di Figura. He was an honorary member of the Gran Ducale Fiorentina academy (1782), the Academy of St Luke (1803), and the Academy of Mantova.

His work in Bologna (1774–1791) was typified by the decorazioni all'antica or decorations in imitation of the Greco-Roman classics. His work is also imbued with a search of the magnificent and impressive as seen in his enormous statue for the Chiesa del Triregno (1781). His masterpiece from this period is found in the cupola of the Santuario Santa Maria della Vita (1787).

In 1792 Acquisti left Bologna for Rome (1792–1807) which was influenced by Acquisti having been a member of the board for the Curlandese prize. In the 1789 edition he saw the neoclassic style typical of Antonio Canova, in the marble relief Le arti incoronate dal Genio by Giacomo De Maria. While in Rome he worked alongside Canova and Valadier. During this period he decorated the Palazzo Braschi near Piazza Navona, and sculpted a large bas-relief for the main altar of the church of San Pantaleo, Rome. 1793/1794 he made a white marble bust of Duke Frederick August of Oldenburg for the Duke's monument in the vestibule of the St Lambert Church in Oldenburg, Germany.

After 1807 Acquisti moved to Milan, where he produced among his most famous works such as the marble statue Atalanta, the marble group Mars and Venus, the statue of David on the façade of the Milan Cathedral and reliefs on the Arco della Pace. These last works were completed in neoclassical style.

Acquisti returned to Bologna in 1814, from then until his death producing sculptures for the Certosa of Bologna. However, in the only two works that are known to be his in the cemetery (another pair is attributed to him with the consensus of experts), the artistic level has diminished and the monuments are of a modest nature with sparse detail.