Life and career
Parodi trained in a Genoese family woodcarving workshop and studied Roman sculptural approaches. He directed a substantial workshop serving palaces and churches, later undertaking important commissions beyond Genoa. His career crossed wood, marble and architectural ensembles; identifying workshop participation is essential to understanding how these objects were produced.
Works across a career
Selected examples, not a complete catalogue. Read date ranges and attributions before inferring a career sequence.
- 01
c. 1670s
View this work at the source
Reference entry · image not reproducedc. 1670s
Allegory of Autumn (Bacchus)
- Material / technique
- Carved poplar, varnished and gilt
- Attribution / role
- Filippo Parodi and workshop
- Collection / source
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- 02
c. 1675
c. 1675
Sleeping Christ Child
- Material / technique
- marble
- Attribution / role
- Museum attribution
- Collection / source
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
Museum catalogue note
Christ—no longer an infant, but a young child—sprawls on a bed of straw, his head thrown back in slumber and his right arm dangling. The simple radiance framing his head indicates his divinity. Representations of the sleeping Christ child were enduringly popular, not only because of the subject’s inherent charm, but sleep, as a metaphor for death, encouraged pious Christians to meditate on Christ’s humanity and his eventual suffering and death. Filippo Parodi’s Sleeping Christ Child beguiles with lifelike detail. Parodi used varying degrees of polish to differentiate surface textures: Christ’s body is burnished to a soft gleam, while his hair and the straw are more roughly carved, absorbing rather than reflecting the light. Parodi exploited the sensuous and tactile possibilities of the marble to enhance the emotional impact of his piece, a tactic learned from the master of Italian Baroque sculpture, Gianlorenzo Bernini.
Collection text · The Cleveland Museum of Art · CC0 - 03
completed 1683
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Reference entry · image not reproducedcompleted 1683
Tomb of Francesco Morosini
- Material / technique
- Funerary monument
- Attribution / role
- Discussed in the Met’s Parodi catalogue essay; link opens that source, not a separate object record.
- Collection / source
- Church of San Nicolò dei Tolentini, Venice
Materials, marks and colour
Media and surface
Marble, treated wood and architectural ensembles require different carving and workshop processes.
Marks and structure
Projecting limbs and animated drapery invite viewing from multiple angles.
Palette and light
White stone, varnish and gilding produce different kinds of reflected light and apparent warmth.
Sources and further reading
Original educational interpretation; catalogue descriptions are separately credited. Each study links to its source. Reference entries without images are not added to the comparison timeline.