Giuseppe Carlo Pedretti Italian, 1697-1778

Giuseppe Carlo Pedretti (Bologna, Italy, 1697 – Bologna, Italy, 1778)

Born in Bologna in 1697, Giuseppe Carlo Pedretti began refining his artistic skills at the age of 15 under the guidance of Carlo Antonio Rambaldi.

In 1714, he moved to Turin to work under Marcantonio Franceschini and his son Giacomo, remaining there until 1729.
Between 1726 and 1727, Pedretti traveled to Mantua, Sabbioneta, and Viadana, where he created works such as Joseph Recovers the Silver Cup, now housed in Palazzo Magnani, Bologna.

From 1729 to 1732, he served Grand Marshal Wacław Rzewuski in Lviv, Poland, producing numerous portraits and sacred-themed frescoes for the Church of the Carmelites.
In 1739, having returned to Bologna some years earlier, Pedretti enrolled at the Accademia Clementina, where he became a member and was twice elected "Prince" of the Academy (in 1754 and 1770).

Among his most significant works are Madonna and Saints Anthony Abbot and Vitalis in the Church of San Vitale in Calderara di Reno (1744), the frescoes of the Martyrdom of Saint Proculus in the choir of the Church of San Procolo in Bologna, and the cycle of the Stories of the Baptist (ca. 1750–60) in the Church of San Giovanni Battista in Minerbio.

The artist died in Bologna in 1778.

Photo UniCredit Group (Sebastiano Pellion di Persano)