Benedetto Pistrucci
Benedetto Pistrucci was an Italian gem-engraver, medallist and coin engraver. He is probably best known for his Saint George and the Dragon design for the British sovereign coin. He was commissioned by the British government to create the large Waterloo Medal, a project which took him thirty years to complete. After his death in 1849, the George and Dragon design was restored to the sovereign coin, and is still used today.
About Benedetto Pistrucci in brief
Benedetto Pistrucci was an Italian gem-engraver, medallist and coin engraver. He is probably best known for his Saint George and the Dragon design for the British sovereign coin. Born in Rome in 1783, he studied briefly with other artists before striking out on his own at age 15. He became prominent as a cameo carver and was patronised by royalty. In 1815, he moved to Britain, where he would live for most of the rest of his life. He was commissioned by the British government to create the large Waterloo Medal, a project which took him thirty years to complete. After his death in 1849, the George and Dragon design was restored to the sovereign coin, and is still used today. He died in London in 1869. He left a fortune to his family, including his three sisters, Elisa, Pauline and Caroline, and two brothers, Filippo and Giuseppe. He also had a daughter, Antonia, who was married to the Italian painter Giuseppi Mango. He had three children, including a son, Federico, who became a judge in the High Criminal Court under the papal government, and a daughter-in-law, Antonie, who died in childbirth in 1881. He never married. He worked as a gem-carver until his death at the age of 80. He spent his last years in London with his wife and three children. His last will and testament can be found at the National Gallery, London, and he is buried at the San Siro in Rome, Italy, with his daughter, Caroline, who he married in 1883.
He has a son and two daughters with his second wife, Agnese, and one daughter with whom he had two children, Francesco, who later became a painter. He lived in London until he died in 1879. His son Federico died in a car accident in 1891, aged 80. His daughter Elisa is now a well-known sculptor in the city of Bologna, Italy. She is married to Italian painter and sculptor Pierpaolo Tofanelli, who is also a friend of the Duke of Arquibaut. She was also the mother of the Italian politician and politician, Mario Pistrulli, who served as Prime Minister of Italy from 1881 to 1885. She died of cancer in 1896, and her son was buried in Rome. She had been a pupil of the artist Giuseppa Mango, who had trained Benedetto at the Campidoglio del nudo academy in Rome before moving to London to work for the Royal Mint. He later worked for the Mint as an engravers. His talent brought him to the attention of notables including William Wellesley-Pole, the Master of the Mint. When George IV demanded that an unflattering portrait of him on the coinage be changed with a new likeness to be based on the work of Francis Chantrey, Pistucci refused and was nearly dismissed.
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This page is based on the article Benedetto Pistrucci published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 31, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
