L'arte del ferro battuto a Brescia e Bergamo tra Rinascimento e Settecento

<p>An ancient testimony to the fame of the Bergamasks as iron craftsmen comes to us from Ludovico Ariosto’s Satira I: «in sin che i Bergamaschi / se levino a far chiodi». The fame, in fact, also concerns neighbouring Brescia and, for both territories, should refer not only to simple forms of craftsmanship, such as nail making, but also to more elaborate works, for which the adjective “artistic” can be used without problem. My proposal consists of a focus on the production of wrought iron objects in the Brescia and Bergamo area between the Renaissance and the eighteenth century: keys, locks, knockers, scissors, tinder knives, irons, fireplace tools, gratings, gates, signs, decorative accessories; I would tend not to dwell, however, on armour and weapons, as they constitute a separate sector, already much studied. I will focus on the nature of the artefacts, their decorative dimension and the techniques used. I will try to consider their peculiarities compared to examples made in the same period in other areas and the changes they underwent over the centuries. It will also be interesting to assess their relationship with local painting and sculpture and to reflect on the iconographic links they maintain with the territory (e.g. the Bergamasque knockers reproducing the traditional local viper). I will also deal with the depiction of metal objects in Brescian and Bergamasque paintings, from the case of the scissors depicted in Giovan Battista Moroni’s Tailor to that of the fireplace irons painted by Giacomo Ceruti.  </p>