Danese Cattaneo (? – 1572) was an Italian sculptor and medallist, active mainly in the

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

region of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Danese was Tuscan in origin, born in either Massa di Carrara or

Colonnata Colonnata is an Italian ancient village and a hamlet (''frazione'') of the ''comune'' of Carrara, (Province of Massa-Carrara, Massa-Carrara, Tuscany). It is situated in the Apuan Alps, and is known worldwide for the pork fat delicacy Lardo di Colo ...

. He produced primarily sculptures of religious and historical subjects and portrait busts. From an early age he was a pupil of

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 ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, and left the city, as Sansovino and many other artists did, after the

Sack of Rome (1527) The Sack of Rome, then part of the Papal States, followed the capture of Rome on 6 May 1527 by the mutiny, mutinous troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, during the War of the League of Cognac. Charles V only intended to threaten military ...

. In Sansovino's circle at Venice, he made a reputation in 1530 with his ''St Jerome'' at the base of the organ in

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

. He was invited to

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

in 1533 to take part in the stucco decorations for the

Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua The Pontifical Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua () is a Catholic Church, Catholic church and Basilicas in the Catholic Church, minor basilica in Padua, Veneto, Northern Italy, dedicated to Anthony of Padua, St. Anthony of Padua. Although the ...

. He also sculpted the sepulchre there of Alessandro Contarini, a Venetian general. Once again in Venice, he was part of the collaborative team providing architectural enrichments for Sansovino's great projects. In Venice he sculpted the statue of Apollo over the well in the centre of the court of the Zecca. According to

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work ''Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ideol ...

, Danese composed the rich iconographic program himself:Adrienne DeAngelis, 2005. "The Apollo Wellhead of Danese Cattaneo: a source for Ammannati's "Juno" Fountain in Florence" ''Artibus et Historiae'' 26 (51) pp. 151-157. Apollo is a young man, sitting on a globe, his head radiant; in the right hand are metal rods, and in the left a sceptre, at the top of which is an eye. A serpent, with his tail in his mouth (

ouroboros The ouroboros or uroboros (; ) is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent symbolism, snake or European dragon, dragon Autocannibalism, eating its own tail. The ouroboros entered Western tradition via Egyptian mythology, ancient Egyptian iconogra ...

), encircles the globe. In the church of

Sant'Anastasia Sant'Anastasia (; ) is a (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about northeast of Naples. Sant'Anastasia borders the following municipalities: Casalnuovo di Napoli, Ercolano, Pollena Trocchia, ...

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

, he sculpted a memorial to Giano Fregoso. He also participated in four statues for Doge

Leonardo Loredan Leonardo Loredan (; ; 16 November 1436 – 22 June 1521) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian nobleman and statesman who reigned as the 75th Doge of Venice from 1501 until his death in 1521. As a wartime ruler, he was one of the most important do ...

's monument in the Church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo. Giorgio Vasari owed to conversations with Danese many details of Venetian artists in his ''Vite''. He died in Padua in 1572.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cattaneo, Danese 1510s births 16th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors 1572 deaths