Biography

Italian sculptor. Little is known about his life. He lived and worked in Milan, but evidence suggests that he had also an active artistic career near Lake Como, in Italy's lake region.

He studied at the Accademia di Brera in Milan and from 1830 to 1833 he studied under the guidance of Camillo Pacetti. He later attended the workshop of Pompeo Marchesi. Croff was inspired by the Neoclassical movement, and his figures demonstrate the ideal standards of Classical beauty. However, he was not confined by tradition and explored other styles in his marble compositions. He was also known for his terracotta figures.

Between 1837 and 1865 he worked for the Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano, where he produced a figure of St John of God for the exterior of the Cathedral of Milan. He was one of a few Milanese sculptors from whom the Emperor of Austria ordered a sculpture to celebrate his coronation as King of Lombardy: the sculptor created a seated nude figure of a girl, called Fate, which was placed on the ground floor of the Vatican Belvedere in 1845.