Jacopo Sansovino

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Jacopo d’Antonio Sansovino (1486 - November 27 in Florence, 1570 in Venice) was an Italian sculptor and architect. He apprenticed with Andrea Sansovino whose name he subsequently adopted, changing his name from Jacopo Tatti.

In Rome he attracted the notice of Bramante and Raphael and made a wax model of the Deposition of Christ for Perugino to use. He returned to Florence in 1511 where he received commissions for marble sculptures of St. James for the Duomo and a Bacchus, now in the Bargello. His proposals for sculpture to adorn the façade of the Church of San Lorenzo, however, were rejected by Michelangelo, who was in charge of the scheme, to whom he wrote a bitter letter of protest in 1518.

During these years he shared a studio with the painter Andrea del Sarto, with whom he shared models. He subsequently returned to Rome where he stayed for nine years, leaving for Venice in the year of the Sack of Rome.

In 1529 Sansovino became chief architect (or Protomagister) to the Procurators of San Marco, making him one of the most influential artists in Venice. His masterpieces represent central buildings in Venice, including buildings found around Piazza San Marco, specifically the rustic Zecca (public mint), the Loggetta adjoining the Campanile, and various statues and reliefs for the Basilica of San Marco.

His most famous work is the elaborate building housing the Library of Saint Mark's, the Biblioteca Marciana, one of Venice's most richly decorated Renaissance structures. In it he successfully made the architectural language of classicism, traditionally associated with severity and restraint, palatable to the Venetians with their love of surface decoration. This paved the way for the graceful architecture of Andrea Palladio.

See also: Renaissance Classicism