Benedetto

Exemplus Titus Benedetto Santoli (8th March 7348 - 10th December 7436), commonly known as Benedetto, was an Anisoran painter, sculptor, poet, and architect, and a leading participant in the Praeclarum movement at the onset of the House of Decus rule. Encompassing all forms of the arts, Benedetto became the single most influential figure during the Praeclarum movement and has been revered as a "father of the arts" ever since. He was confirmed as an Orkanan Exemplar (Pastanan: Exemplus) by the Peratolian congregation of Pastana in 7485 for his exemplary Orkanan life and skill as a creator. Benedetto rose to the highest artistic positions within the empire, becoming the youngest ever portrait painter to the imperial family and the most famous artist of his generation. His paintings and other works soon became status symbols, highly treasured by royalty, aristocracy, clergy, and the wealthy across Anaria.

Early Life and Education

Benedetto was born on 8th March 7348 in Malanna, Pastana Province. His family ran an arms manufactory producing mainly muskets for the Imperial Land Force. Being surrounded by weaponry throughout his childhood, Benedetto became fascinated by weapon designs and the military, leading to an early ambition to join the Imperial Land Force, which his father immediately denied. At the age of 15, Benedetto was sent by his father, Giovanni Santoli, to Valance to study history shortly before the outbreak of the Anisoran Civil War in 7363. He enjoyed his studies early on, yet he soon found himself dedicating most of his time to drawing fantastical battle scenes inspired by his history books and sketching the temples across the ancient city.

As a frequent visitor to the temples of Pena, his talent soon drew considerable attention, particularly that of his first patron, Titus Decemus Carus, an influential priest and lover of the arts. Upon encouragement from Carus, Benedetto wrote to his father, begging to be allowed to pursue an education in drawing and painting. His father responded with an infuriated refusal, prompting Carus to write to his father personally and offer to sponsor his son into the Academiae Nestoriae, the most prestigious art school in the empire. His father agreed, and Benedetto was admitted to the Academiae Nestoriae, where he studied for four years.

Valance

After studying at the Academiae Nestoriae for four years, Benedetto had amassed a considerable reputation and was inundated with commission requests from temples and wealthy houses within and outside the empire. The Anisoran Civil War ended two years before he completed his studies, and the new emperor, Marius I, a passionate supporter of the arts, refounded the Academiae Nestoriae while Benedetto was in his final year as part of his extensive cultural renewal program. Tradition has it that this was where Benedetto first met the emperor, beginning their lifelong friendship.

With Benedetto's growing reputation and desirability among patrons across Anaria, Marius I commissioned the young artist's first imperial portrait, that of the emperor's niece, Princess Gia Flavia Decus. The portrait's reception was so positive that the emperor himself sat for him. The painting, commissioned in 7367, became the official imperial portrait and set the archetype for the artist's distinct "imperial style." His last few years in Valance were primarily dedicated to developing his skills as a sculptor, despite his fame as a painter. During this time, he studied the old masters of sculpture, particularly the ancient cult statue sculptors of Marsium, and secured his first sculpture commissions, the first of which was a cult statue for his earliest patron and friend, Titus Decemus Carus's chapel in Valance.

Pena

In 7369, Emperor Marius I invited Benedetto to the newly relocated imperial capital, Pena (New Pena). Here, he received many more imperial commissions as well as private and religious works. On 19th April 7371, Benedetto was officially appointed portrait painter to the imperial family—the youngest in history—and in a little more than three years was appointed Imperial Artifex, the highest artistic position in the empire. Consequently, he took the praenomen Titus after his imperial patron, Marius I Titus Marius Decus, and his long-time friend and patron, Titus Decemus Carus. At this time, his popularity as a sculptor was also increasing, particularly among religious groups. His marble sculptures became the most desired pieces of art for temples across Anaria, and soon the richest temples and cathedrals proudly displayed their Benedetto sculptures.

He also designed several small chapels and temples across the empire, most famously the Chapel of the Father in Pena, which heralded a new fashion in religious architecture. In 7405, at the age of 57, he was appointed to the Council for Religious Works, where he was commissioned to head the building of the new Penan Cathedral, the largest religious building project the empire had seen. As head architect, he was responsible for designing the colossal cathedral. Benedetto did not see his masterpiece finished in his lifetime; the cathedral took some 60 more years to complete after the death of its chief architect. On 7th January 7409, at the age of 60, he was appointed honorary president of the Academiae Nestoriae where he studied and first made a name for himself. The academy was later renamed in his honor, some 20 years after his death, to the Academiae Benedetti.

Legacy

Exemplarhood: In 7485, Benedetto was canonized by the Peratolian congregation of Pastana into the Penan canon of Orkanan Exemplars (Pastanan: Aula Penorum Exemplorum). His devotion to congregational artistic works and his divinely inspired skill confirmed his status as living an exemplary life worthy of veneration. Since his confirmation in Valance, Benedetto has become one of the most revered modern Anisoran exemplars in the Peratolian congregation. Due to his fame, Benedetto is also revered by many Orkanan groups throughout Anaria and beyond, and his work, particularly his religious sculpture, remains a popular site of pilgrimage today.

The artist's own work, especially his religious sculptures created for the Peratolian congregation and other major Orkanan organizations, have since his confirmation become unofficial shrines to Benedetto, drawing crowds from far and wide to marvel at his divinely inspired imitation of Vind. A great number of officially sanctioned shrines exist, for example, in his hometown of Malanna, although these rarely contain original works by the exemplar, as most of his works are held in private collections or adorn the temples and religious centers of Anaria.