Francesco Laurana

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Francesco Laurana [de la Vrana], (c. 1430 - before 12 March 1502), was an Italian sculptor and medallist.

[edit] Life and works

Laurana was born in Vrana, near Zadar, the part of the Venetian dominion of Dalmatia.

After an apprenticeship under a sculptor, he began his solo career at Naples, where he finished the trimpuhal arch of Castel Nuovo for Alfons V of Aragon. After the death of the latter he was called to France, at the court of René, duke of Anjou, who commissioned him a series of medallions.

From 1466 to 1471 Laurana was in Sicily. Works of this period include the Mastrantonio Chapel and the tomb of Pietro Speciale in the church of St. Francis in Palermo, the side door of the church of St. Marguerite in Sciacca, some Madonnas with Child in the Cathedrals of Palermo and Noto and a bust of Eleonor of Aragon now in Palazzo Abatellis.

In 1471 he returned to Naples where he exucted the sculpture of the Virgin in the Sta. Barbara Chapel. In 1474-1477 Laura spent three years in Urbino, where his relative Luciano Laurana worked. Then he transferred again to France, where his workshop executed the St. Lazarus altar in the Cathedral of Marseille, the retable of the Calvary in St. Didier d'Avignon and the tomba of Giovanni Cossa at Sainte-Marthe de Tarascon and of Charles du Maine in Le Mans.

Laurana died at Marseille or Avignon, in 1502.

[edit] Overview

He was one of the most significant and most complex sculptors of the 15th century—complex because of his activities within varying cultural circles and his exposure to differing influences. His best works evolved in the workshop tradition in collaboration with other artists. His portrait busts reveal a creative individuality that was seen as particularly fascinating in the late 19th century. Though it is impossible to chart his stylistic development, his later work made in France shows some assimilation of northern realism, which is absent from the work executed in Italy.