Antonio del Pollaiolo

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"Apollo and Daphne" by Antonio Pollaiuolo.
"Apollo and Daphne" by Antonio Pollaiuolo.

Antonio del Pollaiolo (January 17, 1429/1433 – February 4, 1498), also known as Antonio di Jacopo Pollaiuolo or Antonio Pollaiolo, was an Italian painter, sculptor, engraver and goldsmith during the Renaissance, who also did valuable service in perfecting the art of enamelling.

Contents

[edit] Biography

He was born in Florence.

His brother was the artist Piero del Pollaiolo and the two frequently worked together. Their work shows both classical influences and an interest in human anatomy; reportedly, the brothers carried out dissections to improve their knowledge of the subject. They took their nickname from the trade of their father, who in fact sold poultry (pollaio meaning "hen coop" in Italian). Antonio's first studies of goldsmithing and metalworking were under either his father or Andrea del Castagno: the latter probably taught him also in painting.

Some of Pollaiolo's painting exhibits an excess of brutality, of which the characteristics can be studied in the Saint Sebastian, painted in 1473-1475 for the Pucci Chapel of the SS. Annunziata of Florence. However, in contrast, his female portraits exhibit a calmness and a meticulous attention to detail of fashion, as was the norm in late 15th century portraiture.

Hercules Clubs the Hydra.
Hercules Clubs the Hydra.

But it was as a sculptor and metal-worker that he achieved his greatest successes. The exact ascription of his works is doubtful, as his brother Piero did much in collaboration with him.

He only produced one surviving engraving, the Battle of the Nude Men, but both in its size and sophistication this took the Italian print to new levels, and remains one of the greatest prints of the Renaissance.

In 1484 Antonio took up his residence in Rome, where he executed the tomb of Pope Sixtus IV, now in the Museum of St. Peter's (finished in 1493), a composition in which he again manifested the quality of exaggeration in the anatomical features of the figures. In 1496 he went to Florence in order to put the finishing touches to the work already begun in the sacristy of Santo Spirito.

Battle of the nude men, his only engraving.
Battle of the nude men, his only engraving.

He died in Rome, as a rich man, having just finished his mausoleum of Pope Innocent VIII, also in St. Peter's, and was buried in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli, where a monument was raised to him near that of his brother.

Among Antonio's skill his mastery in renderings of the human figure in motion has been pointed out. Antonio's main contribution to Florentine painting lay in his searching analysis of the anatomy of the body in movement or under conditions of strain, but he is also important for his pioneering interest in landscape. Antonio is said to have anticipated Leonardo in dissecting corpses in order to study the anatomy of the body. Pollaiolo's students included Sandro Botticelli.

[edit] Major works

[edit] Paintings and engravings

[edit] Sculptures

[edit] References

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