Aristodemo Costoli (1803–1871) was an Italian sculptor who spent his entire career in the city of Florence. He is also known for attempting in 1843 to clean and conserve the famed Renaissance-era sculpture David by Michelangelo; unfortunately his hydrochloric acid cleaning solution removed the stone's waxy protective coating and left the surface pitted and porous. His students included Emilio Zocchi, Girolamo Masini, Augusto Rivalta and his son Leopoldo Costoli.
Partial anthology of works
Florence
- Galileo in Tribune of Galileo, at Museo della Specola (1832);
- Christophe Colomb, at musée du Nouveau Monde, La Rochelle (France);
- Pegasus, in Giardino di Boboli;
- tondo dedicated to Arnolfo di Cambio in Duomo di Firenze;
- bust of Cosimo Buonarroti and Rosina Vendramin, in Casa Buonarroti;
- Monument to L. Matteucci (1845), in Badia Fiorentina;
- Discovery of America, in Hall 5 of Galleria d'arte moderna (Firenze) in Palazzo Pitti;
- Monument to Galileo, niche in the ground-floor courtyard of the Uffizi Gallery (1851);
- Jeremiah (Palazzo Pitti);
- Funeral Monument to Della Gherardesca (Santa Maria del Fiore a Lapo);
- Bas-relief of Villa Paolina (Sesto Fiorentino).
Other cities in Italy
- Genoa: Prudence and Columbus placing flag on Beach (1862), monument to Christopher Columbus.
- Ancona: Monument to Cavour (1868), with statue dedicated to Cavour and two bas-reliefs, at Cavour square.
- Pisa: Monument to Angelica Catalani (1859), at Camposanto.
- Lucca: Bust of Leopold II, Museo nazionale di villa Guinigi.
Other countries:
- Santiago, Chile: Monument to Pedro de Valdivia
- Saint Petersburg: Memorial to Ekaterina Arkadievna Kotchoubey and her daughter Vera
- France, La Rochelle, Musée du Nouveau Monde, La découverte de l'Amérique, marbre blanc, 78x40x26 cm
- Private commissions, England.
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Galileo Galilei (Museo della Specola, Florence)
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Galileo Galilei (Museo della Specola, Florence)
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Leopold II (Museo della Specola, Florence)
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Cavour (Cavour square, Ancona)
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Congress of Paris (Cavour square, Ancona)
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Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy (Cavour square, Ancona)
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Geremia (Palazzo Pitti, Florence)
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Angelica Catalani (Camposanto, Pisa)
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Memorial Della Gherardesca (Santa Maria del Fiore a Lapo, Florence)
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Bust of Cosimo Buonarroti (Casa Buonarroti, Florence)
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Pedro de Valdivia (Santa Lucía hill, Santiago de Chile)
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Arnolfo di Cambio (Florence, cathedral)
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Galileo Galilei(galleria degli Uffizi, Florence)
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Christopher Columbus monument in Genua, (only two statues on the basement)
References
- Paolucci, Antonio (2004). Bracci, Susanna; Falletti, Franca; Matteini, Mauro (eds.). Exploring David: Diagnostic Tests and State of Conservation. Giunti Editore. p. 12. ISBN 978-88-09-03325-2.
The David in Florence's Accademia is young Michelangelo's masterpiece.
- Buonarroti, Michelangelo; Paolucci, Antonio (2006). Michelangelo's David. Harry N. Abrams. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-903973-99-8.
...a masterpiece of throbbing vitality.
- Guida rossa del TCI, Firenze e provincia (edition 2005), page 414
- Guida rossa del TCI, Firenze e provincia (edition 2005), page 385
- Quest'opera non risulta nella guida del TCI (edizione 2005), but cited in Aristodemo Costoli in the enciclopedia Treccani consultabile su Internet.
- "Statue - Christophe Colomb".
- Mackay, James, The Dictionary of Sculptors in Bronze, Antique Collectors Club, Woodbridge, Suffolk 1977