Tommaso Loraghi «tagliapietre», the last altar

Abstract

The altar of the Blessed Virgin of Carmine in the church of San Biagio in Modena, the most precious for the polychrome marbles which it is made of, is here attributed to Tommaso Loraghi (1608-1670), famous sculptor and stonemason engaged in the most important construction sites of the duchy of Este. The contribution offers the unpublished agreement between the sculptor, the friars and Flaminio Cantuti, holder of the chapel, and a stylistic analysis of the work, the last before the sculptor’s death, by placing the altar in the context of his production and in the program of decorative renovation of the church promoted in the Mid-Seventeenth Century. New documents help to clarify the various steps of the completion of this prestigious commission, completed by his brother Antonio Loraghi (1626-1685), superintendent of the ducal factories, and to define the improvements and new furnishings of the Eighteenth Century.