Antonio Pollaiuolo
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Antonio del Pollaiuolo ( , , ; 17 January 1429/14334 February 1498), also known as Antonio di Jacopo Pollaiuolo or Antonio Pollaiuolo (also spelled Pollaiolo), was an Italian
painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
, sculptor, engraver, and goldsmith during the Italian Renaissance.


Biography

He was born in Florence. His brother, Piero del Pollaiuolo, was also an artist, and the two frequently worked together. Their work shows both classical influences and an interest in
human anatomy The human body is the structure of a human being. It is composed of many different types of cells that together create tissues and subsequently organ systems. They ensure homeostasis and the viability of the human body. It comprises a he ...
; reportedly, the brothers carried out
dissection Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause o ...
s to improve their knowledge of the subject. They took their nickname from the trade of their father, who in fact sold poultry (''pollaio'' meaning "hen coop" in Italian). Antonio's first studies of goldsmithing and metalworking were under either his father or Andrea del Castagno: the latter probably taught him also in painting. Other sources relate that he worked in the Florentine workshop of Bartoluccio di Michele, where Lorenzo Ghiberti also received his training. During this time, he also took an interest in engraving. Some of Pollaiuolo's painting exhibits strong brutality, of which the characteristics can be studied in his portrayal of Saint Sebastian, painted in 1473–1475 for the Pucci Chapel of the SS. Annunziata. However, in contrast, his female portraits exhibit a calmness and a meticulous attention to detail of fashion, as was the norm in late fifteenth-century portraiture. He achieved his greatest successes as a sculptor and metal-worker. The exact ascription of his works is doubtful, as his brother Piero did much in collaboration with him. The fifteenth-century addition of the infant twins
Romulus and Remus In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus (, ) are twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the founding of the city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his fratricide of Remus. The image of a she-wolf suckling the ...
to an existing bronze sculpture of the Ancient Roman mythological she-wolf who nursed them has been attributed by some to him.Capitoline Museums: Exhibition "The Capitoline She-Wolf", June–October 2000
He only produced one surviving engraving, the '' Battle of the Nude Men'', but both in its size and sophistication this took the Italian
print Printing is the process for reproducing text and images using a master form or template Print or printing may also refer to: Publishing * Canvas print, the result of an image printed onto canvas which is often stretched, or gallery-wrapped, o ...
to new levels, and remains one of the most famous prints of the Renaissance. In 1484 Antonio took up residence in Rome, where he executed the tomb of
Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...
, now in the Museum of St. Peter's (finished in 1493), a composition in which he again manifested the quality of exaggeration in the anatomical features of the figures. In 1496 he went to Florence in order to put the finishing touches to the work already begun in the sacristy of Santo Spirito. He died in Rome as a rich man, having just finished his mausoleum of
Pope Innocent VIII Pope Innocent VIII ( la, Innocentius VIII; it, Innocenzo VIII; 1432 – 25 July 1492), born Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1484 to his death in July 1492. Son of th ...
, also in St. Peter's, and was buried in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli, where a monument was raised to him near that of his brother. His main contribution to Florentine painting lay in his analysis of the human body in movement or under conditions of strain, but he is also important for his pioneering interest in landscape. His students included Sandro Botticelli.


Major works


Paintings

File:Antonio del Pollaiolo - Hercules and Antaeus - WGA18030.jpg, '' Hercules and Antaeus'' File:Antonio del Pollaiolo - Ercole e l'Idra e Ercole e Anteo - Google Art Project.jpg, '' Hercules and the Hydra'' File:Antonio del pollaiolo, assunzione di santa maria maddalena, staggia senese.jpg, ''The Assumption of St Mary Magdalene'' File:Pollaiolo, Piero del - Apollo and Daphne.jpg, '' Apollo and Daphne'' *'' The Assumption of St Mary Magdalene'' (c. 1460) – Tempera on panel,
Museo della Pala del Pollaiolo Museo may refer to: * Museo, 2018 Mexican drama heist film *Museo (Naples Metro) Museo is a station on line 1 of the Naples Metro. It was opened on 5 April 2001 as the eastern terminus of the section of the line between Vanvitelli and Museo. O ...
,
Staggia Senese Staggia Senese is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Poggibonsi, province of Siena. At the time of the 2001 census its population was 2,129.Altarpiece for the Chapel of the Cardinal of Portugal An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...
'' (1467) – Fresco, San Miniato al Monte, Florence *'' Portrait of a Young Woman'' (c. 1465) – Poplar panel, 52.5 × 36.2 cm,
Staatliche Museen The Berlin State Museums (german: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) are a group of institutions in Berlin, Germany, comprising seventeen museums in five clusters, several research institutes, libraries, and supporting facilities. They are overseen ...
, Berlin
*'' The Saints Vincent, James and Eustace'' (1468) – Tempera on wood, 172 × 179 cm, Uffizi, Florence *'' Apollo and Daphne'' (1470–1480) – Tempera on wood, 30 × 20 cm, National Gallery, London *'' Portrait of a Young Woman'' (c. 1475) – Tempera on wood, 55 × 34 cm, Uffizi, Florence *'' Hercules and the Hydra'' (c. 1475) – Tempera on wood, 17 × 12 cm, Uffizi, Florence *'' Hercules and Antaeus'' (c. 1478) – Tempera on wood, 16 × 9 cm, Uffizi, Florence *'' Portrait of a Girl'' – Panel, Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan *'' Hercules and Deianira'' – Oil on canvas, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven


Sculptures

File:Antonio del pollaiolo, ercole e anteo, 01.JPG, ''Hercules and Antaeus'' File:The sculpture of Warrior.jpg, ''Bust of a Warrior'' File:Firenze, ercole, 1490 ca. 03.JPG, ''Hercules'' File:Monument to Innocentius VIII in Saint Peter's Basilica.jpg, Tomb of Pope Innocent VIII, Pollaiuolo's second papal tomb File:Hercules pollaiuolo.jpg, ''Hercules'' File:Antonio del pollaiolo (attr.), ritratto di gentildonna, 1460-65 ca., legno dipinto con dorature, 45x41x23 cm, coll. priv. 01.JPG, ''Portrait Bust of a Young Woman'' *'' St Christopher and the Infant Christ'' Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York *''Hercules'' (1475)
Bode Museum The Bode-Museum (English: ''Bode Museum''), formerly called the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum (''Emperor Frederick Museum''), is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin. It was built from 1898 to 1904 by order of Germa ...
, Berlin
* ''Tomb of Pope Sixtus IV'' (1493) St. Peter's Basilica


Engraving


Notes


References

*Giorgio Vasari includes a biography of Pollaiuolo in his ''Lives of the Artists''.


External links


''Leonardo da Vinci, Master Draftsman''
exhibition catalog fully online as PDF from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Antonio del Pollaiuolo (see index)
''The Gubbio Studiolo and its conservation, volumes 1 & 2''
from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Antonio del Pollaiuolo (see index) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pollaiuolo, Antonio Del Italian Renaissance painters Italian Renaissance sculptors Painters from Florence Sculptors from Florence Quattrocento painters 15th-century births 1498 deaths Italian goldsmiths Italian male sculptors Italian printmakers Burials at San Pietro in Vincoli 15th-century people of the Republic of Florence 15th-century Italian painters 15th-century Italian sculptors 15th-century engravers Catholic painters Catholic decorative artists Catholic engravers Catholic sculptors Sibling artists