The artists of lake Lugano : the baroque creators of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (16 th -18 th Century)

Abstract

Nearly 40 architects, sculptors, painters, and other masters, who originated from the shores of Lake Lugano, worked in almost 50 places of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania throughout the 16th to 18th century. Their greatest impact was on the stuccowork at the turn of the 17th -18th century. This stucco has never been surpassed by anyone, either before or after that. It is recognized by art historians, that these artists made a huge impact on the early Lithuanian Baroque (around 1600, St. Casimir Chapel, Jesuit Church in Nyasviež) as well as on the Baroque of the second half of the 17th century (Pažaislis Monastery and Church, Church of St. Peter and Paul in Vilnius). The production of the Lugano Lake artists was at its most bountiful in the 18th century. Yet even though their influence on the Vilnius Rococo was significant, it has not been profoundly studied and its evaluation remains problematic. This article discusses the phenomenon of the Lake Lugano artists in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on the basis of Swiss, Italian, Polish, and Lithuanian historiography. The most important personalities and objects there are identified and described. In this generally synoptic review article, new information (in the context of Lithuanian historiography) is presented about the sculptor and architect of the Vilnius Cathedral‘s St. Casimir Chapel Giovanni Giacomo Tencalla (first half of the 17th century), the stucco maker at Pažaislis Camaldolese Church and Monastery Giovanni Merli (second half of the 17th century), and the architect of the 18th century Vilnius Baroque Antonio Paracca.