MONNOT, Pierre Etienne

Monnot was a French sculptor working in Rome and in Germany. He did the tomb of Innocent XI (1700) in St Peter’s following the example of Algardi’s tomb of Leo XI. He brought some of the most striking Baroque characteristics to Germany from Rome. His many fine works on mythological subjects included themes previously treated by Bernini and Puget, such as Apollo and Daphne, and Perseus and Andromeda.

Although executed in the first decade of the eighteenth century, this monument belongs to the High Baroque period. With its sumptuous display of coloured marble, it is the work of Pierre Le Gros the Younger and Pierre-�tienne Monnot. The billowing of coloured fabrics evokes the mystery of sculpture ranging beyond the limits of its usual language, intent on the spells of wonder and optical illusionism.

The significant sculptural undertaking that inaugurated the eighteenth century in Rome was the realization of the colossal statues of the Apostles in twelve monumental, green marble niches, decorated by the dove symbol of the Pamphilj family, which Francesco Borromini built during the reconstruction of the interior of San Giovanni in Laterano. The statues, the completion of Borromini’s project, were executed before 1718 by the most important sculptors of the time from Rome and elsewhere. The sculptors included Camillo Rusconi (Andrew, Matthew, James the Greater, John the Evangelist), Francesco Moratti (Simon), Angelo de’ Rossi (James the Less), Giuseppe Mazzuoli (Philip), Lorenzo Ottoni (Thaddeus), as well as the Frenchmen Pierre-�tienne Monnot (Peter, Paul) and Pierre Le Gros (Bartholomew, Thomas).

Among these sculptors Camillo Rusconi was the most noted sculptor of the first half of the century. The only one who effectively rivaled him was Pierre Le Gros, although Pierre-�tienne Monnot, to whom are owed St Peter and St Paul, also created magnificent works.

The apostle’s gesture of reaching out is balanced by his attributes of a book and a sword.

The significant sculptural undertaking that inaugurated the eighteenth century in Rome was the realization of the colossal statues of the Apostles in twelve monumental, green marble niches, decorated by the dove symbol of the Pamphilj family, which Francesco Borromini built during the reconstruction of the interior of San Giovanni in Laterano. The statues, the completion of Borromini’s project, were executed before 1718 by the most important sculptors of the time from Rome and elsewhere. The sculptors included Camillo Rusconi (Andrew, Matthew, James the Greater, John the Evangelist), Francesco Moratti (Simon), Angelo de’ Rossi (James the Less), Giuseppe Mazzuoli (Philip), Lorenzo Ottoni (Thaddeus), as well as the Frenchmen Pierre-�tienne Monnot (Peter, Paul) and Pierre Le Gros (Bartholomew, Thomas).

It was a sign of Monnot’s eminence that he should be chosen for participation in the sculptural project aiming to complete the decoration of the Lateran basilica. Monnot was commissioned with the statues of St Peter and St Paul.

Monnot’s St Peter is one of the finest of the Apostle series, with the prince of the apostles presented as a Classical orator with a decisive gesture of the right hand and drapery that rigidly conforms to the lines of the body.

The tomb is located in the south aisle of St Peter’s. Monnot revived Bernini’s polychrome design for papal tombs, first used in the tomb of Urban VIII. His positioning of the allegorical figures of Religion and Justice on the sarcophagus was an innovation. As compared with Bernini’s tombs, it is exaggeratedly ornamented, even if it does reflect the outline of Bernini’s tombs, it suffers from a too small figure of the pope and from the affectation which heralded the advent of Rococo.