Federico Brandani (1522/1525 – 1575) was an Italian sculptor and stuccoist who worked in an urbane

Mannerist style Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, 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, ...

as a court artist of

Guidobaldo II della Rovere Guidobaldo II della Rovere (2 April 1514 – 28 September 1574) was an Italian condottiero, who succeeded his father Francesco Maria I della Rovere as Duke of Urbino from 1538 until his death in 1574. He was a member of the House of La Rove ...

, Duke of Urbino.

Early life

Born in Urbino, Brandani was apprenticed there to Giovanni Maria di

Casteldurante Urbania is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region of Marche, located about west of Ancona and about southwest of Pesaro, next to the river Metauro. Urbania borders the following municipalities: Acq ...

, a maiolica artist, between 1538 and 1541. There are stucco wall and ceiling decorations by Brandani in the

Palazzo Ducale, Urbino The Ducal Palace ( it, Palazzo Ducale) is a Renaissance building in the Italian city of Urbino in the Marche. One of the most important monuments in Italy, it is listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998. History The construction of the ...

. His masterpiece is considered to be his '' presepio'', a nativity scene with life-size stucco figures, which is in the Oratory of the Church of San Giuseppe, Urbino.

Career

For Guidobaldo's wedding with Vittoria Farnese in 1548 Brandani was one of the team that embellished the Palazzo Ducale in

Pesaro Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, ...

, where he collaborated with

Taddeo Zuccari Taddeo Zuccaro (or Zuccari) (1 September 15292 September 1566) was an Italian painter, one of the most popular members of the Roman mannerist school. Biography Zuccaro was born in Sant'Angelo in Vado, near Urbino, the son of Ottaviano Zuccaro, ...

and

Ludovico Carracci Ludovico (or Lodovico) Carracci (21 April 1555 – 13 November 1619) was an Italian, early-Baroque painter, etcher, and printmaker born in Bologna. His works are characterized by a strong mood invoked by broad gestures and flickering light th ...

. In 1551–53 he worked for

Pope Julius III Pope Julius III ( la, Iulius PP. III; it, Giulio III; 10 September 1487 – 23 March 1555), born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 February 1550 to his death in March 155 ...

Villa Giulia The Villa Giulia is a villa in Rome, Italy. It was built by Pope Julius III in 1551–1553 on what was then the edge of the city. Today it is publicly owned, and houses the Museo Nazionale Etrusco, a collection of Etruscan art and artifacts. Hi ...

, Rome, "if, as seems probable, Brandani is the 'Federigo d'Urbino stuccatore' to whom payments are recorded for work 'alle fontane' of the Villa Giulia between September 1552 and June 1553." From the mid-1550s, Brandani worked on stucco ceilings and other decorations in the Palazzo Tirrani-Castracane in

Cagli Cagli is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Pesaro e Urbino, Marche, central Italy. It c. south of Urbino. The Burano flows near the town. History Cagli occupies the site of an ancient village on the Via Flaminia, which seems to have bo ...

for Felice Tiranni. He completed that work in about 1571, when he executed ''Vulcan's Forge'' over the fireplace in the Salone. He contributed five high-relief panels to a vaulted ceiling in Palazzo Corboli, Urbino, adapting designs by Taddeo Zuccari, who was working at Villa Giulia when Brandani was there. He also worked on Palazzetto Baviera in

Senigallia Senigallia (or Sinigaglia in Old Italian, Romagnol: ''S’nigaja'') is a ''comune'' and port town on Italy's Adriatic coast. It is situated in the province of Ancona in the Marche region and lies approximately 30 kilometers north-west of the pro ...

(1560); and Palazzo Rocca in

Fabriano Fabriano is a town and ''comune'' of Province of Ancona, Ancona province in the Italy, Italian region of the Marche, at Above mean sea level, above sea level. It lies in the Esino valley upstream and southwest of Jesi; and east-northeast of Foss ...

. Towards the end of his life he executed stucco decorations in the Castello Brancaleoni,

Piobbico Piobbico (Romagnol dialect, Romagnol: ''Piòbich'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italy, Italian region Marche, located about west of Ancona and about southwest of Pesaro. Monte Nerone and the location ...

, for Antonio II di Monaldo (d.1598) and in the Urbino chapel at the

Basilica of the Holy House The Basilica della Santa Casa ( en, Basilica of the Holy House) is a Marian shrine in Loreto, in the Marches, Italy. The basilica is known for enshrining the house in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed by some Catholics to have lived. Pio ...

, Loreto, commissioned by Guidobaldo in 1571–72. Another late work is the bas-relief of the ''Martyrdom of Saint Catherine'' in the Church of Santa Catarina, Urbino. A bronze bust of the courtier poet and diplomat Antonio Galli (1510–61) at the

Frick Collection The Frick Collection is an art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection (normally at the Henry Clay Frick House, currently at the 945 Madison Avenue#2021–present: Frick Madison, Frick Madison) features Old Master paintings and Europe ...

, New York, formerly attributed to Leone Leoni, was reattributed to Brandani by

John Pope-Hennessy Sir John Wyndham Pope-Hennessy (13 December 1913 – 31 October 1994), was a British art historian. Pope-Hennessy was Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum between 1967 and 1973, and Director of the British Museum between 1974 and 1976. ...

. Galli also served Guidobaldo della Rovere, as tutor to his son and as his ambassador at Rome and Venice. The bust, identified as Galli by a later inscription on the base, is the only bronze casting attributed to this sculptor, and the only portrait. Brandani was virtually forgotten until he was brought into focus as the premier sixteenth-century sculptor in

Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...

by Luigi Serra in the 1920s.Serra, "Intorno a Federico Brandani" in ''Rassegna Marchigiana'' 4 (1925–26), pp. 134–142; Serra, "Brandani e Gianbologna", in ''Rassegna Marchigiana'', 9 (1930–31), pp. 200–203; Serra ''L'arte nelle Marche. II: Il periodo dell rinascimento'' (Rome) ca 1935.

Notes

External links

Federico Brandani
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandani, Federico 1520s births 1575 deaths People from Urbino 16th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors Renaissance sculptors