Jacopo Sansovino | |
|---|---|
 Jacopo Sansovino in a portrait byTintoretto (c. 1560-1570) | |
| Born | (1486-07-02)2 July 1486 Florence, Republic of Florence |
| Died | 27 November 1570(1570-11-27) (aged 84) |
| Known for |
|
| Movement | Renaissance |
Jacopo d'Antonio Sansovino (2 July 1486 – 27 November 1570) was an ItalianRenaissance sculptor and architect, best known for his works around thePiazza San Marco in Venice. These are crucial works in the history ofVenetian Renaissance architecture.Andrea Palladio, in the Preface to hisQuattro Libri was of the opinion that Sansovino'sBiblioteca Marciana was the best building erected since Antiquity.Giorgio Vasari uniquely printed hisVita of Sansovino separately.
Sansovino was born inFlorence, Italy, and apprenticed withAndrea Sansovino, whose name he subsequently adopted, changing his name from Jacopo Tatti.[1]
InRome, while living in the palace of the late CardinalDomenico della Rovere,[a] Sansovino made awax model of theDeposition of Christ forPerugino to use.[3] Around 1510, Sansovino was invited by Bramante, along with three other sculptors to make wax copies of theLaocoön.[4] Raphael judged Sansovino's copy as the best.[4]
Sansovino returned to Florence in 1511,[2] where he received commissions formarble sculptures ofSt. James for theDuomo and aBacchus, now in theBargello.[5] His proposals for sculpture to adorn thefaçade of the Church ofSan Lorenzo, however, were rejected byMichelangelo, who was in charge of the scheme, to whom he wrote a bitter letter of protest in 1518.[6]
In the period of 1510–17, Sansovino shared a studio with the painterAndrea del Sarto, with whom he shared models.[7] Like all sixteenth-century Italian architects, he devoted considerable energy to elaborate temporary structures related to courtly ceremonies and festivities. Thetriumphal entry ofPope Leo X into Florence in 1515 was a highpoint of this genre. Sansovino subsequently returned to Rome where he stayed for nine years, leaving forVenice in the year of theSack of Rome.
In 1529, Sansovino became chief architect and superintendent of properties (Protomaestro orProto) to theProcurators of San Marco, making him one of the most influential artists in Venice. The appointment came with a salary of 80 ducats and an apartment near the clocktower in San Marco. Within a year his salary was raised to 180 ducats per year.[8]
His main achievements are a group of prominent structures and buildings in central Venice found nearPiazza San Marco, specifically the rusticatedZecca (public mint), the highly decoratedLoggetta and its sculptures adjoining theCampanile, and various statues andreliefs for theBasilica of San Marco. He also helped rebuild a number of buildings, churches, palaces, and institutional buildings including the churches ofSan Zulian,San Francesco della Vigna,San Martino,San Geminiano (now destroyed), Santo Spirito in Isola, and the church of the Incurabili. Among palaces and buildings are the Scuola Grande della Misericordia (early plans), Ca' de Dio,Palazzo Dolfin Manin,Palazzo Corner, Palazzo Moro, and the Fabbriche Nuove diRialto.[9]
His masterpiece is the Library of Saint Mark's, theBiblioteca Marciana, one of Venice's most richly decorated Renaissance structures, which stands in front of the Doge's palace, across the piazzetta. Construction spanned fifty years and cost over 30,000 ducats.[10] In it he successfully made the architectural language ofclassicism, traditionally associated with severity and restraint, palatable to the Venetians with their love of surface decoration. This paved the way for the graceful architecture ofAndrea Palladio.
He died inVenice and his tomb is in the Baptistery ofSt. Mark's Basilica. His most important follower in the medium of sculpture wasAlessandro Vittoria; another disciple was the architect and sculptorDanese Cattaneo.
_Courtyard_of_the_Doge%2527s_Palace_-_Scala_dei_giganti_-_Mars.jpg)
_Courtyard_of_the_Doge%2527s_Palace_-_Scala_dei_giganti_-_Neptune.jpg)
%2c_sant%2527onofrio%2c_1505-10_ca._02.JPG)
_Chapel_Corner_-_Statue_of_St._John_the_Baptist_by_Jacopo_Sansovino.jpg)
_-_Statue_of_Thomas_Rangone_by_Jacopo_Sansovino_2.jpg)
Media related toJacopo Sansovino at Wikimedia Commons
