Alessandro Vittoria funerary monument - San Zaccaria, Venice Alessandro Vittoria (1525–1608) was an Italian

Mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

of the Venetian school, "one of the main representatives of the Venetian classical style" and rivalling

Giambologna Giambologna (1529 – 13 August 1608), also known as Jean de Boulogne (French), Jehan Boulongne (Flemish) and Giovanni da Bologna (Italian), was the last significant Italian Renaissance sculptor, with a large workshop producing large and small ...

as the foremost sculptors of the late 16th century in Italy, producing works such as ''

Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ang ...

'' (Art Institute of Chicago).

Biography

Vittoria was born Alessandro Vittoria di Vigilio della Volpa in

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...

, in what is now northern Italy, and was the son of a tailor. Vittoria was trained in the atelier of the architect-sculptor

Jacopo Sansovino Jacopo d'Antonio Sansovino (2 July 1486 – 27 November 1570) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect, best known for his works around the Piazza San Marco in Venice. These are crucial works in the history of Venetian Renaissance arc ...

; he was a contemporary of

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...

whose influence can be detected in his compositions. He was a virtuoso in terracotta, often presented with gilded surfaces, marble and bronze. Like all Italian sculptors of his generation, Vittoria was influenced also by

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was ins ...

and by the Florentine Mannerist,

Bartolomeo Ammanati Bartolomeo Ammannati (18 June 151113 April 1592) was an Italian architect and sculptor, born at Settignano, near Florence. He studied under Baccio Bandinelli and Jacopo Sansovino (assisting on the design of the Library of St. Mark's, the ''Bibl ...

. The closeness of his associations in projects by architects Sansovino, Sanmicheli and

Palladio Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of t ...

, working with painters

Tintoretto Tintoretto ( , , ; born Jacopo Robusti; late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594) was an Italian painter identified with the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized the speed wit ...

and Veronese placed him squarely among the protagonists of the art world in late 16th-century Venice.

Career

Alessandro Vittoria - Bust of Marino Grimani - Walters 27225

Vittoria was first trained in his native city,

, then moved to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

on 25 July 1543, where he trained and worked with

. His long artistic relationship with Sansovino was a stormy one. After one quarrel with Sansovino, he removed from Venice and worked in

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a thr ...

, where he collaborated with Veronese on the decorations of the Villa Barbaro at Maser (1560–62) before returning. The two masters worked jointly on great sculptural commissions until Sansovino's death. Vittoria took up his studio and completed Sansovino's unfinished commissions. His pupils included

Camillo Mariani Camillo Mariani (Vicenza 1565–Rome 1611) was a major Italian sculptor whose work bridged the artistic worlds of Venice and Rome, forming a base for the Baroque style of the seventeenth century. Biography Camillo Mariani was born in 1565 in Vic ...

and

Andrea di Alessandro Andrea di Alessandro was an Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period. He was born in Brescia and active there and in Venice during the latter half of the 16th century. He was a pupil of Alessandro Vittoria, and his masterpiece is the bronze cande ...

. Vittoria joined the Scuola Grande di San Marco on 24 January 1563 and the Accademia del Disegno, Florence, c. 1567. He died at Venice on 27 May 1608. His tomb, with his self-portrait bust, is in the church of

San Zaccaria The Church of San Zaccaria is a 15th-century former monastic church in central Venice, Italy. It is a large edifice, located in the Campo San Zaccaria, just off the waterfront to the southeast of Piazza San Marco and St Mark's Basilica. It is ded ...

. Vittoria is known for his classicising portrait busts, a genre that scarcely existed in Venice before him, and for medals as well as for his full-length figures, some of which surmount Sansovino's ''

Biblioteca Marciana The Marciana Library or Library of Saint Mark ( it, italic=no, Biblioteca Marciana, but in historical documents commonly referred to as ) is a public library in Venice, Italy. It is one of the earliest surviving public libraries and repositori ...

''.

Sources

His diary is an important source for the details of his career, as is his will, of 29 July 1576.Giuseppe Gerola, "Nuove documenti veneziani su Alessandro Vittoria" ''Atti del Reale Instituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti'' 84 (1925:349-50). An exhibition at Trento, 1999 is memorialised in a catalogue by Andrea Bacchi, Lia Camerlengo and Manfred Leithe-Jasper, ''"La Bellissima Maniera": Alessandro Vittoria e la Scultura Veneta del Cinquecento'' (Trento 1999) which is the basic text for its introductory essays on Vittoria's art and career, by Manfred Leithe-Jasper; his patrons, by Thomas Martin; his connections with Venetian painting, by Stefano Tumidei; and Vittoria's role as a collector, by Victoria Avery.

Gallery

Alessandro Vittoria, San Zaccaria (1543).jpg, San Zaccaria San Zaccaria, Venice Cappella Montefeltro di Francesco Smeraldi, Sant' Antonio abate Statue d'Alessandro Vittoria.jpg,

Anthony the Great Anthony the Great ( grc-gre, Ἀντώνιος ''Antṓnios''; ar, القديس أنطونيوس الكبير; la, Antonius; ; c. 12 January 251 – 17 January 356), was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is d ...

San Francesco della Vigna San Francesco della Vigna is a Roman Catholic church in the Sestiere of Castello in Venice, northern Italy. History Along with Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, this is one of two Franciscan churches in Venice. The site, originally a vineyard (''v ...

Cappella Montefeltro San Rocco Statue d'Alessandro Vittoria.jpg,

Saint Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79 (traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327, also called Rock in English, is a Catholic saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he is especially invoked a ...

San Salvador Venezia - San Rocco - Alessandro Vittoria.jpg,

San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital it ...

Venice Cappella Montefeltro San Sebastiano Statue d'Alessandro Vittoria.jpg,

Saint Sebastian Saint Sebastian (in Latin: ''Sebastianus''; Narbo, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire c. AD 255 – Rome, Italia, Roman Empire c. AD 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocle ...

San Salvador Venezia - San Sebastiano - Alessandro Vittoria.jpg,

Venice Chapel of the Crucifix Santi Giovanni e Paolo (Venice) - Saint John the Evangelist by Vittoria.jpg,

John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given ...

San Zanipolo The Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, known in Venetian as San Zanipolo, is a church in the Castello ''sestiere'' of Venice, Italy. One of the largest churches in the city, it has the status of a minor basilica. After the 15th century the ...

Venice Chapel of the Crucifix Santi Giovanni e Paolo (Venice) - the Virgin of pain by Vittoria.jpg, Virgin of pain

Venice Alessandro vittoria, mercurio, 1559-60 ca..JPG Alessandro vittoria, giunone.JPG Alessandro vittoria, apollo.JPG Alessandro vittoria, san sebastiano, 1566 circa.JPG File:Cast of Vittoria's Bust of Apollonio Massa.JPG, Cast of Vittoria's bust of Apollonio Massa

Notes

External links

J. Paul Getty Museum: vitaPortrait of the artist
by

Paolo Veronese Paolo Caliari (152819 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( , also , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as '' The Wedding at Cana'' (1563) and ''T ...

.
Relief of ''Annunciation''
at

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vittoria, Alessandro 1525 births 1608 deaths People from Trento Italian male sculptors