Giovanni Bernardi (1494 – 22 May 1553), also known asGiovanni da Castel Bolognese and asGiovanni da Castelbolognese, was an Italiangem engraver andmedallist who was born inCastel Bolognese, Italy. He was the son of a goldsmith and by 1530 had moved to Rome, where he had a position in thePapal mint, which also allowed him time to work for other patrons. These includedCardinal Ippolito de' Medici (1511–35),Pope Clement VII (1523–34), Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, the futurePope Paul III, as well as his grandson, also calledCardinal Alessandro Farnese. He was "a skillful composer of elegant nudes in elaborate scenes".^[1]

Bernardi was best known for hisintaglios engraved inrock crystal, which had been pioneered byValerio Belli. This was a difficult luxury artform that was fashionable among wealthy Italian collectors. Though described as being "engraved", the intaglios are cut by drills, sometimes quite deeply. Castings of many of the crystal carvings were taken in wax and them used to make metalplaquettes, which Bernardi also designed and madede novo. He also made some versions in glass.^[2]

He died inFaenza, Italy in 1553.

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  The Battle of Pavia in an engravedrock crystalcameo relief commissioned by CardinalIppolito de' Medici,c 1531-35 (Walters Art Museum)
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  Christ before Pilate, perhaps from a set of engraved rock crystal plaques depicting the life of Christ that, according toGiorgio Vasari, Bernardi completed in 1547 forCardinal Alessandro Farnese (Walters Art Museum)
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  The Fall of Phaethon, after a design byMichelangelo, for CardinalIppolito de' Medici (Walters Art Museum)
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  Plaquette withAdoration of the Shepherds

• Krasnowa, Natalie,Rock-Crystals by Giovanni Bernardi in the Hermitage Museum, The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 56, No. 322 (Jan., 1930), 36-38.
• Thornton, D.,Valerio Belli and after: Renaissance gems in the British Museum, Jewellery Studies-3, 1998, 11-20.
• Vasari, Giorgio,Le Vite delle più eccellenti pittori, scultori, ed architettori, many editions and translations.
• Wilson, Carolyn C.,Renaissance Small Bronze Sculpture and Associated Decorative Arts, 1983, National Gallery of Art (Washington),ISBN 0894680676

• Giovanni Bernardi in ArtCyclopedia
• European sculpture and metalwork, a collection catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Bernardi (see index)