Giuseppe Rizzo - Giovanni Duprè made it, Clemente Papi smelted it

Giuseppe Rizzo presents the collaboration between the two artists Giovanni Duprè and Clemente Papi for the realization of the Triumph of the Cross on the central door's lunette of Santa Croce Church's façade. The preparatory model represents the largest composition ever realized by sculptor Duprè, whose casting in bronze was executed by Papi. According to the critics of the time, the bas-relief was one of the highest sculptural peaks ever reached by Duprè, who succeeded in linking formal beauty with high Christian subjects. Rizzo dates the beginning of the professional relationships between the two artists back to the execution of Cain and Dying Abel, both on display in the Gallery of Modern Art of Pitti Palace. This paper also aims at dignifying the figure of the smelter, often relegated to the background if compared with the sculptor's fame.