Neo-Gothic bench attributed to Agostino Fantastici (1782-1845)

Neo-Gothic bench.
Varnished and blackened walnut. Velvet cushion.
Italy, around 1820.


Agostino Fantastici is an architect of formation, son of an engineer and surveyor of Siena, he studies at the Academy of Siena the Humanities. At the age of 24, he made a trip to Rome to study architecture, probably at the Academy of San Luca, while observing its ancient ruins. He visited churches, temples, ruins and it was from these remains that he drew his inspiration to imitate these monuments. His career really began when he worked on several sites of Giuseppe Valadier.

He was strongly inspired by the antique but his interest widened very early: his work is vast and diverse, he drew from all the styles of the early nineteenth century: neoclassicism, neo-Gothic, Egyptian creations ... Versatile, he designed or renovated palaces, churches, facades and theaters, but also bridges, dams and spillways. And he created the interior decoration and all the furniture of several palaces in Siena such as the Villa Chigi Saracini, but also of some stores. As evidenced by the drawings relating to the Croci workshop which are remarkable: the style of the whole is neo-Egyptian, but there are also elements derived from the neo-Gothic and neoclassical style.
This bench is part of the production of this artist, whose taste is marked by the pure lines of antiquity, which influences his interpretation of the neo-Gothic.