260px, Amadeo, Milan Cathedral 260px, The Colleoni Chapel in Bergamo. Giovanni Antonio Amadeo (c. 1447 – 27 or 28 August 1522) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor of the Early Renaissance, architect, and engineer.

Biography

Amadeo was born in

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the ...

. In 1470 he was commissioned by Bartolomeo Colleoni to complete his funerary chapel, the Cappella Colleoni in

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Com ...

, which had been begun by Guiniforte and

Francesco Solari 240px, ''Madonna with Child'', church of Sant'Angelo, Milan. Francesco Solari (c. 1415 – 1469) was an Italian sculptor, architect and engineer. He was born in Milan, the son of Giovanni Solari and the brother of Guiniforte Solari. Arou ...

. Amadeo added polychrome decoration and many sculptures in the ancient style including medallions, small columns, busts, reliefs of "Histories from the Old Testament" and "Histories of Hercules". Amadeo also designed the funerary monument to Medea Colleoni, which was intended for the church of Santa Maria della Basella in Urgnano. The condottiero's tomb was realized in collaboration with other artists, with Amadeo providing the reliefs of the lower sarcophagus and of the smaller upper sarcophagus, as well seven statues of the Virtues. Amadeo was also commissioned by Duke

Galeazzo Maria Sforza Galeazzo Maria Sforza (24 January 1444 – 26 December 1476) was the fifth Duke of Milan from 1466 until his assassination a decade later. He was notorious for being lustful, cruel, and tyrannical. He was born to Francesco Sforza, a popu ...

to work for some years in the

Certosa di Pavia The Certosa di Pavia is a monastery and complex in Lombardy, Northern Italy, situated near a small town of the same name in the Province of Pavia, north of Pavia. Built in 1396–1495, it was once located on the border of a large hun ...

. During 1473–1476, Amadeo realized half of the bas-reliefs in the right side of the façade. In 1480 he finished the arch of the Persian Martyrs in the Olivetani Monastery of

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of the ...

(four marble reliefs remain today, dated 1484). Also attributed to him are two statues of Justice and Temperance in Cremona, and reliefs in the National Antiquity Museum of

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second m ...

. In 1485 he collaborated with his brother-in-law Pietro Antonio Solari in the Ospedale Maggiore of Milan, a project of which he was made director ten years later. Amadeo was then active in the decoration of the

Milan Cathedral Milan Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Milano ; lmo, Domm de Milan ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary ( it, Basilica cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria Nascente, links=no), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombard ...

. He collaborated with

Donato Bramante Donato Bramante ( , , ; 1444 – 11 April 1514), born as Donato di Pascuccio d'Antonio and also known as Bramante Lazzari, was an Italian architect and painter. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance styl ...

on the facade of Santa Maria presso San Satiro in Milan. In 1488 Amadeo was commissioned by Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, to become director of works of the new Pavia Cathedral, again with Bramante having a minor role. In 1489, he helped design and build the ''Arca di San Lanfranco'' for the church of that name in Pavia. In this period he worked also as Ducal engineer for Ludovico il Moro, designing fortifications at

Chiavenna Chiavenna ( lmo, Ciavèna ; la, Clavenna; rm, Clavenna or ''Claven''; archaic german: Cläven or ''Kleven'') is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sondrio in the northern Italian region of Lombardy. It is the centre of the Alpine ...

and Piattamale, as well as repairing of roads and bridges in

Valtellina Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; rm, Vuclina (); lmo, Valtelina or ; german: Veltlin; it, Valtellina) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Tod ...

and (in the 16th century) hydraulic works; for Ludovico, he also realized a Loggia in the Ducal Palace of Vigevano, as well as some statues for the Milanese Cathedral. From 1495 Amadeo directed the works of the church of

Santa Maria presso San Celso Santa Maria dei Miracoli presso San Celso is a church and a sanctuary in Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy. History and overview The construction was begun by Gian Giacomo Dolcebuono and Giovanni Battagio in 1493, to house a miraculous icon of the ...

at Milan.

From 1497 he directed works at the Milan Cathedral, finishing the tambour in 1500. In the 16th century, Amadeo designed the church of

Santa Maria di Canepanova Santa Maria di Canepanova is a Renaissance style Roman Catholic church located in central Pavia, region of Lombardy, Italy. Although in the past the design was popularly attributed to Bramante, the church was designed by Giovanni Antonio Amadeo. ...

, also in Pavia. In 1501 he sculpted reliefs with "Stories of the Carthusians" and "life of St. Bruno" for the Certosa of Pavia. In 1982 it has been proven that the Sanctuary of Santa Maria alla Fontana in Milan, attributed for many years to

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested on ...

was in fact designed by Amadeo. In 1508 he also presented a model for the spire of the Milan Cathedral, which was not executed. The notable façade of the Cathedral of

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label= Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Lugano has a populat ...

, considered a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture, has also been attributed to Amadeo He died in Milan in 1522.

References

* http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/early-renaissance-artists.htm https://archive.org/stream/bollettinodellep1905bibl/bollettinodellep1905bibl_djvu.txt

External links

Metropolitan Museum of Art.org: ''Leonardo da Vinci: anatomical drawings from the Royal Library, Windsor Castle''
(online PDF) — ''exhibition catalog with material on Giovanni Antonio Amadeo (see index)''.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amadeo, Giovanni Antonio Italian Renaissance architects Italian Renaissance sculptors 1440s births 1522 deaths Architects from Pavia Italian engineers 15th-century Italian architects 15th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors 16th-century Italian sculptors 16th-century Italian architects