Taddeo Landini (c. 1561 – March 13, 1596) was an Italian sculptor and architect of the

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 ...

period, active mainly in his native

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 after 1580, 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, ...

Biography

His initial training was in Tuscany, and to Rome, he brought the decorative style of Florentine fountains. In Florence, in the early 1580s, he sculpted a copy of Michelangelo's ''Risen Christ'' for the church of Santo Spirito. He was also called to sculpt the statue of ''Winter'', a man shivering, on the Ponte Santa Trinita over the river Arno. The bridge was designed by Ammanati. The other three seasons were completed by either Caccini and Francavilla. Moving to Rome, he completed the relief of ''Christ washing the Feet of the Disciples'' and a triton for the fountains in

Piazza Navona Piazza Navona () is a public open space in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the 1st century AD Stadium of Domitian and follows the form of the open space of the stadium in an elongated oval. The ancient Romans went there to watch the '' a ...

. He also completed a large, no longer extant, gilt-bronze seated statue of Pope

Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V (; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death, in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order, where h ...

in the

Campidoglio The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; ; ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. The word ''Capitolium'' first referre ...

. A smaller bust still remains. His most famous work is that the four bronze mannered adolescents were cast in bronze for a fountain,

Fontana delle Tartarughe The Fontana delle Tartarughe (The Turtle Fountain) is a fountain of the late Italian Renaissance, located in Piazza Mattei, in the Sant'Angelo (rione of Rome), Sant'Angelo district of Rome, Italy. It was built between 1580 and 1588 by the archit ...

, in the Piazza Mattei, not far from the church of

Santa Caterina dei Funari Santa Caterina dei Funari is a church in Rome in Italy, in the rione of Sant'Angelo. The church is mainly known for its façade and its interior with frescoes and paintings. History The church is located where the Castro Aureo of the Circus Flamin ...

. This project was likely influenced by figures in Ammanati's Fountain of Neptune in Florence. The design of the water spouts was altered decades later to turtles by

Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor ...

. Landini was appointed architect for Pope

Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII (; ; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 January 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born in Fano, Papal States to a prominen ...

. However, on visiting Florence, he was afflicted by syphilis and from thereon did not dare appear before the pontiff.

Sources

Grove encyclopedia of Art entry
1560s births 1596 deaths Sculptors from Florence 16th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors Renaissance sculptors Grand Duchy of Tuscany people Expatriates in the Papal States {{Italy-sculptor-stub