Attributed to Andrea Fantoni (1659–1734)

This magnificent frame bears the stylistic hallmarks of Andrea Fantoni, the foremost Bergamesque woodcarver of the Rococo era. Born into a dynasty of sculptors, Fantoni rose to prominence as the most successful leader of the Rovetta-based Fantoni workshop, which he had inherited from his father, Grazioso the Elder. Under Andrea's direction, the workshop received prestigious ecclesiastical commissions throughout northern Italy. Upon Andrea's death in 1734, the workshop passed into the hands of his brothers and his nephew, Grazioso the Younger. Today it welcomes visitors in Rovetta as the Fantoni House-Museum, which documents the sculptural dynasty's life and work.

Almost certainly designed for an ecclesiastical setting, perhaps a private chapel, the present frame compares closely in style to one of Andrea's principal works, the Confessional in the Basilica of S. Maria Maggiore, Bergamo (1704-1705). The figure of God the Father, in particular, is closely analogous in both pose and appearance. For similar elaborately carved acanthus ornament terminating in floral motifs, see a frame from Andrea's workshop surrounding a relief with Adam and Eve, dated to around 1715 (Rigon, op. cit., p. 78). Further notable comparisons for the present composition are found in preparatory drawings from Andrea's workshop for virtuoso furnishings and altarpieces, such as a design for an altarpiece (op. cit., p. 110), which shows similar kneeling angels supported by architectural elements, and another such design exhibiting analogous foliate patterns as well as suspended ribbons at the bottom of the composition (Bossaglia, op. cit., fig. 179). 

RELATED LITERATURE
R. Bossaglia, I Fantoni: Quattro Secoli di Bottega di Scultura in Europa, Vincenza, 1978; L. Rigon, La Bottega dei Fantoni, Bergamo, 1988