RAVERTI, Matteo
(active 1398-1436)

Biography

Italian sculptor and architect. He was first mentioned in 1398, when he was active in the workshop of Milan Cathedral. He remained there until 1409, and three statues are documented as his work: the Incense-bearing Angel (1403) the Giant in Armour and St Babila (1404; all Milan Cathedral). St Babila is Raverti's best work but was criticized for departing from the design provided. His style is linked to naturalism of the Lombard Gothic tradition, tempered by proto-Renaissance traits.

In May 1421 Raverti was in Venice, where he contracted with Marino Contarini to make certain works for the Ca' d'Oro, then under construction. He was probably responsible for the open staircase, the courtyard arcade, the large window facing the court and the door giving on to the street. These elements, however, were drastically modified or rebuilt in the course of 19th-century restorations. The design for the funerary monument to Bonromeo Borromei (destroyed) in the church of S Elena dated from 1422.

Raverti was in Venice in 1436, when his daughter was married. He has been credited with several works in Venice, but none of them is certain. They include the St Christopher on the portal of Santa Maria dell' Orto, numerous capitals and the Drunkenness of Noah on the façade of the Doge's Palace, and the St Simeon in San Simeone. The attribution of the cenotaph of Vitaliano Borromeo on Isola Bella is also open to doubt.



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