Santi Gucci (c. 1530–1600) was an Italian architect and sculptor.

Biography

He moved to Poland after 1550, most probably from

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 ...

, and became the court artist of the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and t ...

, his sister

Anna Jagiellon Anna Jagiellon (, ; 18 October 1523 – 9 September 1596) was King of Poland, Queen of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, Grand Duchess of Lithuania from 1575 to 1587. Daughter of Polish King and Lithuanian Grand Duke Sigismund I the Ol ...

and his successor King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania

Stephen Báthory Stephen Báthory (; ; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) as well as Prince of Transylvania, earlier Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576). The son of Stephen VIII Báthory ...

. Santi Gucci's workshop in

Pińczów Pińczów is a town in southern Poland, in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, about 40 km south of Kielce. It is the capital of Pińczów County. The population is 10,946 (2018). Pińczów belongs to the historical region of Lesser Poland (Polish: ...

became a notable school that attracted many future artists and became one of the centres of

Mannerist Mannerism 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 Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

art and culture in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. For his merits for the Polish crown he was ennobled, accepted into the ranks of the

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

and given a Zetynian Coat of Arms. One of the most successful and fruitful artists of his epoch, Gucci built or reconstructed a number of palaces of notable people in all parts of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Among them was the Firlej family castle in

Janowiec Janowiec is a village in Puławy County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Janowiec. It lies approximately south-west of Puławy and west of the regional capital Lublin ...

on the

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

(1565–1585), for whom he also sculpted a Mannerist tomb in a local parish church (c. 1586). For the Piotr Myszkowski family he erected a new palace in Książ Wielki (1585–1595), Mirów Castle. He also erected the

Łobzów Łobzów is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wolbrom, within Olkusz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. History As a result of the Partitions of Poland (1772–95), the Galicia area and Kraków ware attribu ...

palace (1585–1587), in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, and expanded the castle in

(1591–1600). He is also supposed to be the architect of the Pińczów synagogue. One of his most notable works is the integral design and funerary monuments in the Bartolommeo Berrecci's Sigismund's Chapel in the

Wawel Cathedral The Wawel Cathedral (), formally titled the Archcathedral Basilica of Stanislaus of Szczepanów, Saint Stanislaus and St. Wenceslas, Saint Wenceslaus, () is a Catholic cathedral situated on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. Nearly 1000 years old, it ...

. The chapel, often referred to as the ''pearl of Italian Renaissance north of the Alps'', housed the graves of King Sigismund II Augustus and Anna Jagiellon. Between 1594 and 1595 he also refurbished the Mariacka Chapel to house the tomb of Stephen Báthory. Others among his major works include the Branicki family chapel in

Niepołomice Niepołomice (pronounced ) is a town in southern Poland, seat of Gmina Niepołomice in the Wieliczka County in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is situated on the Vistula River, on the verge of the large virgin Niepołomice Forest. There is ...

(1596) and St. Anne's Chapel in

Gallery

Image:Pinczow 20060722 1429.jpg, St Anne's Chapel in Pińczów Image:Church_of_St._Stanislaus_and_St._Wenceslaus,_Sigismund_chapel,_Wawel_1,_Old_Town,_Kraków,_Poland.jpg,

Sigismund's Chapel Sigismund's Chapel () is a royal chapel of the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, Poland. Built as a funerary chapel for the last members of the Jagiellonian Dynasty, it has been hailed by many art historians as "the most beautiful example of the Tu ...

at the

Image:Poland Baranow - Castle.jpg,

Baranów Sandomierski Baranów Sandomierski is a small town in southern Poland, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodship, Tarnobrzeg County on the Vistula River, with 1,420 inhabitants as of December 2021. Baranów lies near the Vistula river, along ...

Image:Janowiec dziedziniec.jpg,

Image:Nowy Wiśnicz.jpg, Nowy Wiśnicz

Sources

* 1530s births 1600 deaths 16th-century Italian architects Italian Renaissance architects Architects from Florence 16th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors Year of birth uncertain Italy–Poland relations Immigrants to Poland {{Poland-sculptor-stub