Giovanni Cristoforo (or Giancristoforo) Romano (1456–1512) was an

Italian Renaissance sculptor Italian Renaissance sculpture was an important part of the art of the Italian Renaissance, in the early stages arguably representing the leading edge. The example of Ancient Roman sculpture hung very heavily over it, both in terms of style and t ...

and

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

list. Born in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

to Isaia da Pisa, he was probably a pupil of

Andrea Bregno Andrea di Cristoforo Bregno (1418–1506) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect of the Early Renaissance who worked in Rome from the 1460s and died just as the High Renaissance was getting under way. Early life He was born in Oste ...

. His first known works are in the Ducal Palace of

Urbino Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of F ...

, dating from before 1482. Later he worked as medallist for the courts of Ferrara and

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

, where he was a favourite of duchess

Isabella d'Este Isabella d'Este (19 May 1474 – 13 February 1539) was Marchioness of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure. She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion, whos ...

. In 1491 he moved to

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

called by Isabella's brother-in-law Ludovico Sforza, who commissioned him the tomb of Gian Galeazzo Visconti at the

Certosa di Pavia The Certosa di Pavia is a monastery and complex in Lombardy, Northern Italy, situated near a small town of the same name in the Province of Pavia, north of Pavia. Built in 1396–1495, it was once located on the border of a large huntin ...

, which he executed in collaboration with Benedetto Briosco. After the fall of the Sforza (1499) he returned to work for Isabella d'Este, for which he executed some fine medals and the precious marble portal of her study in the Ducal Palace of Mantua. Later, he sojourned in Rome (called by

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or th ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Cremona, and again Milan and Urbino. The tripartite marble altar-piece in the Costa Chapel in

Santa Maria del Popolo it, Basilica Parrocchiale Santa Maria del Popolo , image = 20140803 Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo Rome 0191.jpg , caption = The church from Piazza del Popolo , coordinates = , image_size ...

was probably created by him for Cardinal Jorge da Costa around 1505. He died in 1512.

References

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work '' The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculp ...

, ''Le

vite ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'' ( it, Le vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori), often simply known as ''The Lives'' ( it, Le Vite), is a series of artist biographies written by 16th-ce ...

'' * A. Venturi, ''Studi su G.C.R. scultore'' in ''Atti del I congresso nazionale di studi romani'', Roma 1929 * R. Bossaglia, ''La scultura'', in ''La Certosa di Pavia'', a cura di M. G. Albertini Ottolenghi, R. Bossaglia, F. R. Pesenti, Milano 1968 * A. Nova, "Dall'arca alle esequie. Aspetti della scultura a Cremona nel XVI secolo", in ''I Campi e la cultura artistica cremonese del cinquecento'', Milano 1985 {{DEFAULTSORT:Romano, Giancristoforo Italian Renaissance sculptors 1456 births 1512 deaths Italian medallists Artists from Rome 15th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors 16th-century Italian sculptors