Sansovino, Andrea
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Andrea dal Monte Sansovino or Andrea Contucci del Monte San Savino (1529) was an Italian
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 ...
active during the
High Renaissance In art history, the High Renaissance was a short period of the most exceptional artistic production in the Italian states, particularly Rome, capital of the Papal States, and in Florence, during the Italian Renaissance. Most art historians stat ...
. His pupils include
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 ...
(no relation).


Biography

He was the son of Domenico Contucci of Monte Sansovino and was born at
Monte San Savino Monte San Savino is a town and comune in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany (Italy). It is located on the Essa stream in the Valdichiana. Several of its frazioni occupy higher hills, like Gargonza at and Palazzuolo, at an elevation of . History M ...
near
Arezzo Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...
, hence his name, which is usually softened to Sansovino. He was a pupil of
Antonio del Pollaiuolo 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 Renaissance painter, sculptor, engraver, and goldsmith, who made ...
, and at first, worked in the style of 15th-century
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
. His early works are the
terra cotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...
altarpiece in Santa Chiara at Monte San Savino, the marble reliefs of the ''Annunciation'', the ''Coronation of the Virgin'', a ''Pietà'', the ''Last Supper'', and various statuettes in the Corbinelli Chapel of Santo Spirito at Florence, all executed between the years 1488 and 1491. From 1493 to 1500 Andrea worked in
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
for the king, and some pieces of sculpture by him still exist in the monastic church of
Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...
. These early reliefs strongly show the influence of
Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), known mononymously as Donatello (; ), was an Italian Renaissance sculpture, Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sc ...
. His first known works after his return to Rome are a ''Madonna'' and a ''Baptist'' in
Genoa Cathedral Genoa Cathedral or Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Lawrence (, ''Cattedrale di San Lorenzo'') is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the Italian city of Genoa. It is dedicated to Saint Lawrence (San Lorenzo), and is the seat of the Archbishop of Gen ...
. The beginning of a more pagan style is shown in the ''St. John Baptizing Christ'' statues over the east door of the Battistero di San Giovanni in Florence (1505). This group was, however, finished by the weaker hand of
Vincenzo Danti Vincenzo Danti (1530 – 26 May 1576) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Perugia. His father was an architect and goldsmith, and Vincenzo developed an interest in drawing and goldsmithing. In 1545 he went to Rome to study sculpture and ...
. In this period he executed the marble font at Volterra, with good reliefs of the ''Four Virtues'' and the ''Baptism of Christ''. In 1504 Sansovino was invited to Rome by
Pope Julius II Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...
to make the monument of Cardinal Manzi in
Santa Maria in Aracoeli Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...
(influenced by the Lombard style of
Andrea Bregno Andrea di Cristoforo Bregno (1418–1506) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect of the Early Renaissance who worked in Rome from the 1460s and died just as the High Renaissance was getting under way. Early life He was born in Oste ...
) and those of the Cardinals Ascanio Maria Sforza and Girolamo Basso della Rovere for the retro-choir of
Santa Maria del Popolo The Parish Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo () is a titular church and a minor basilica in Rome run by the Augustinian order. It stands on the north side of Piazza del Popolo, one of the most famous squares in the city. The church is hemmed in b ...
. The architectural parts of these monuments and their sculptured foliage are extremely graceful and executed with the most minute delicacy, but the recumbent effigies show the beginning of a serious decline in taste. These tombs became models which for many years were copied by most later sculptors with increasing exaggerations of their defects. In 1512, while still in
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, ...
, Sansovino executed a very beautiful group of the ''Madonna and Child with St. Anne'', now over one of the side altars in the church of Sant'Agostino. From 1513 to 1528 he was at Loreto, where he cased the outside of the
Santa Casa The Basilica della Santa Casa () is a Marian shrine in Loreto, in the Marches, Italy. The basilica is known for enshrining the house in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed by some Catholics to have lived. Pious legends claim the same hous ...
in white marble, covered with reliefs and statuettes in niches between engaged columns; a small part of this sculpture was the work of Andrea, but the greater part was executed by
Raffaello da Montelupo Raffaello da Montelupo (born Raffaele Sinibaldi; – c. 1566/1567) was a sculptor and architect of the Italian Renaissance, and an apprentice of Michelangelo. He was the son of another Italian sculptor, Baccio da Montelupo. Both father and son ...
, Tribolo and others of his assistants and pupils. Though the general effect is rich and magnificent, the individual pieces of sculpture are both dull and feeble. The earlier reliefs, those by Sansovino himself, are the best.


Works

File:St. John the Baptist by Andrea Sansovino, early 1500s, and Adam, Zaccariah, and Habakkuk, by Matteo Cividali, second half of the 15th century, marble - San Lorenzo (Genoa) - DSC01926.JPG, St. John the Baptist by Andrea Sansovino, early 1500s, (Adam, Zaccariah, and Habakkuk, by Matteo Cividali) File:Baptism Christ Sansovino OPA Florence.jpg, Baptism Christ, Battistero di San Giovanni, File:PortaaEst.jpg, The Gates of Paradise, Battistero di San Giovanni, File:Santa Maria del Popolo Presbyterium Grabmal Ascanio Sforza.JPG, Ascanio Sforza's tomb File:Casa siviero, sala del maestro della natività johnson, ambito di andrea sansovino, madonna col bambino.JPG, Madonna col bambino File:Rivestimentolmarmoreosantacasaloreto.jpg


References

*
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 ...
includes a biography of Sansovino in his ''
Lives Lives may refer to: * The plural form of a ''life'' * Lives, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran * The number of lives in a video game * ''Parallel Lives'', aka ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', a series of biographies of famous m ...
''. *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sansovino, Andrea Italian Renaissance sculptors 1460s births 1529 deaths People from Monte San Savino Sculptors from Tuscany 15th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors 16th-century Italian sculptors Catholic sculptors