The Sculpture and Prints of Domenico del Barbiere

Domenico del Barbiere (ca. 1506 - 1570/71) was an Italian sculptor and engraver who worked in France, principally at Fontainebleau and in Champagne. Called Dominique Florentin in his adopted country, he is better known today as a printmaker of the "School of Fontainebleau" than as a sculptor. Yet, in this latter role, first as the best stuccatore--according to Vasari--at the French Court, and later as an independent artist with commissions throughout the Ile-de-France, Domenico was an important influence on French sculpture in the middle decades of the sixteenth century. This dissertation recounts his career and places him within the context of the French Renaissance. The first chapter examines the history of his life through the documents--many of them unpublished--assembled in the Appendix at the end of the thesis. An examination of Domenico's eighteen certain engravings follows, studied in relation to other French printmakers' work, ordered chronologically, and analyzed for their sources and meaning. Chapter Three looks at his early sculptural activity, mainly in stucco or perishable materials, particularly within the context of Fontainebleau stucchi. Domenico's major works, carved between 1550-52, are the subjects of Chapters Four and Five. The jube of Saint-Etienne is placed within the tradition of French rood-screens and the sculptures considered as touchstones of his style. Important new attributions are made and relations of his work to Florentine style proposed. The lavish Tomb of Claude de Lorraine is examined at length, in relation to the significance of Guise patronage at mid-century and of Primaticcio's role as designer of the complex. Different hands in the carving of the tomb are sorted out. And an explication of the tomb's meaning in terms of Guise politics and religion proposed. On the basis of these firmly documented works the final three chapters attribute to Domenico sculptures in Troyes, his place of residence, reconstruct his 1550s and -60s commissions for the monarchy and nobility, and finally chart his influence on and relationship to French sculptors between Jean Goujon and Germain Pilon.