Jacopo d'Antonio Sansovino (2 July 1486 – 27 November 1570) 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 architect, best known for his works around the

Piazza San Marco Piazza San Marco (; vec, Piasa San Marco), often known in English as St Mark's Square, is the principal public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as ''la Piazza'' ("the Square"). All other urban spaces in the city (exc ...

in Venice. These are crucial works in the history of

Venetian Renaissance architecture Venetian Renaissance architecture began rather later than in Florence, not really before the 1480s, and throughout the period mostly relied on architects imported from elsewhere in Italy. The city was very rich during the period, and prone to fire ...

Andrea Palladio Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of th ...

, in the Preface to his ''Quattro Libri'' was of the opinion that Sansovino's

Biblioteca Marciana The Marciana Library or Library of Saint Mark ( it, italic=no, Biblioteca Marciana, but in historical documents commonly referred to as ) is a public library in Venice, Italy. It is one of the earliest surviving public libraries and repositori ...

was the best building erected since Antiquity.

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, Sculpt ...

uniquely printed his ''

Vita Vita or VITA (plural vitae) is Latin for "life", and may refer to: * ''Vita'', the usual start to the title of a biography in Latin, by which (in a known context) the work is often referred to; frequently of a saint, then called hagiography * Vit ...

'' of Sansovino separately.

Biography

He was born in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

and apprenticed with

Andrea Sansovino Andrea dal Monte Sansovino or Andrea Contucci del Monte San Savino (1529) was an Italian sculptor active during the High Renaissance. His pupils include Jacopo Sansovino (no relation). Biography He was the son of Domenico Contucci of Monte ...

, whose name he subsequently adopted, changing his name from Jacopo Tatti. 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 ...

he attracted the notice of

Bramante Donato Bramante ( , , ; 1444 – 11 April 1514), born as Donato di Pascuccio d'Antonio and also known as Bramante Lazzari, was an Italian architect and painter. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance style ...

and

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

and made a

wax Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic, malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to giv ...

model of the ''

Deposition of Christ The Descent from the Cross ( el, Ἀποκαθήλωσις, ''Apokathelosis''), or Deposition of Christ, is the scene, as depicted in art, from the Gospels' accounts of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking Christ down from the cross after hi ...

'' for

Perugino Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil. Ear ...

to use. He returned to Florence in 1511 where he received commissions for marble sculptures of St. James for the

Duomo ''Duomo'' (, ) is an Italian term for a church with the features of, or having been built to serve as, a cathedral, whether or not it currently plays this role. Monza Cathedral, for example, has never been a diocesan seat and is by definition n ...

and a

Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; grc, wikt:Διόνυσος, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstas ...

, now in the

Bargello The Bargello, also known as the Palazzo del Bargello, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, or Palazzo del Popolo (Palace of the People), was a former barracks and prison, now an art museum, in Florence, Italy. Terminology The word ''bargello'' appears ...

. His proposals for sculpture to adorn the

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

of the Church of San Lorenzo, however, were rejected by

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

, who was in charge of the scheme, to whom he wrote a bitter letter of protest in 1518. In the period of 1510-17 he shared a studio with the painter Andrea del Sarto, with whom he shared models. Like all sixteenth-century Italian architects, Sansovino devoted considerable energy to elaborate temporary structures related to courtly ceremonies and festivities. The triumphal entry of

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...

into Florence in 1515 was a highpoint of this genre. He subsequently returned to Rome where he stayed for nine years, leaving for

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

in the year of the Sack of Rome.

Career

In 1529, Sansovino became chief architect and superintendent of properties (Protomaestro or ''Proto'') to the

Procurators of San Marco The office of Procurator of Saint Mark (Venetian language, Venetian: Procurador de San Marco) was one of the few lifetime appointments in the government of the Republic of Venice, Venetian Republic and was considered second only to that of the doge ...

, making him one of the most influential artists in Venice. The appointment came with a salary of 80 ducats and an apartment near the clocktower in San Marco. Within a year his salary was raised to 180 ducats per year. His main achievements are a group of prominent structures and buildings in central Venice found near

, specifically the rusticated Zecca (public mint), the highly decorated Loggetta and its sculptures adjoining the

Campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

, and various statues and

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

s for the

Basilica of San Marco The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark ( it, Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco), commonly known as St Mark's Basilica ( it, Basilica di San Marco; vec, Baxéłega de San Marco), is the cathedral church of the Catholic Pa ...

. He also helped rebuild a number of buildings, churches, palaces, and institutional buildings including the churches of

San Zulian The Chiesa di San Giuliano (Julian the Hospitaller, St Julian), commonly called San Zulian in the Venetian dialect, is a church in Venice. San Zulian is in the parish of Chiesa di San Salvador, San Salvador. It is situated on the Merceria, the mai ...

San Francesco della Vigna San Francesco della Vigna is a Roman Catholic church in the Sestiere of Castello in Venice, northern Italy. History Along with Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, this is one of two Franciscan churches in Venice. The site, originally a vineyard (''v ...

, San Martino, San Geminiano (now destroyed), Santo Spirito in Isola, and the church of the Incurabili. Among palaces and buildings are the Scuola Grande della Misericordia (early plans), Ca' de Dio,

Palazzo Dolfin Manin Palazzo Dolfin Manin is a palace in the ''sestiere'' of San Marco on the Canal Grande of Venice, northern Italy. It is located near the Palazzo Bembo and Palazzo Dandolo Paolucci, not far from the Rialto Bridge. History The palace was built by th ...

, Palazzo Corner, Palazzo Moro, and the Fabbriche Nuove di

Rialto The Rialto is a central area of Venice, Italy, in the ''sestiere'' of San Polo. It is, and has been for many centuries, the financial and commercial heart of the city. Rialto is known for its prominent markets as well as for the monumental Ria ...

. His masterpiece is the Library of Saint Mark's, the ''

'', one of Venice's most richly decorated Renaissance structures, which stands in front of the Doge's palace, across the piazzetta. Construction spanned fifty years and cost over 30,000 ducats.D. Howard page 155. In it he successfully made the architectural language of

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aestheti ...

, 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

. He died in

and his tomb is in the Baptistery of St. Mark's Basilica. His most important follower in the medium of sculpture was

Alessandro Vittoria Alessandro Vittoria funerary monument - San Zaccaria, Venice Alessandro Vittoria (1525–1608) was an Italian Mannerist sculptor of the Venetian school, "one of the main representatives of the Venetian classical style" and rivalling Giamb ...

; another disciple was the architect and sculptor Danese Cataneo.

Gallery

(Venice) Courtyard of the Doge's Palace - Scala dei giganti - Mars.jpg, Mars (Venice) Courtyard of the Doge's Palace - Scala dei giganti - Neptune.jpg, Neptune Jacopo Sansovino, Door Knocker with Nereid, Triton, and Putti, c. 1550, NGA 56932.jpg, ''Door Knocker with Nereid, Triton, and Putti'', c. 1550,

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

Jacopo sansovino (cerchia), sant'onofrio, 1505-10 ca. 02.JPG, St. Onofrio Frari (Venice) Chapel Corner - Statue of St. John the Baptist by Jacopo Sansovino.jpg, St. John the Baptist

Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, usually just called the Frari, is a church located in the Campo dei Frari at the heart of the San Polo district of Venice, Italy. The largest church in the city, it has the status of a minor basil ...

Maestro del san giovannino, san giovannino nel deserto, 1505-1507 circa 03.JPG Bacchus by Jacopo Sansovino.jpg, Bacchus San Zulian (Venice) - Statue of Thomas Rangone by Jacopo Sansovino 2.jpg, Statue of Thomas Rangone by Jacopo Sansovino Maestro del san giovannino, cavaliere che calpesta un vinto, 1506-1510 circa, da museo horne 01.JPG Jacopo sansovino, madonna col bambino, ve, 04.JPG Jacopo Sansovino, Madonna and Child, c. 1550, NGA 46086.jpg

Biography

Career

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading