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Andrea del Verrocchio (, , ; – 1488), born Andrea di Michele di Francesco de' Cioni, was a sculptor, Italian painter and goldsmith who was a master of an important workshop 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 ...
. He apparently became known as ''Verrocchio'' after the surname of his master, a goldsmith. Few paintings are attributed to him with certainty, but a number of important painters were trained at his workshop. His pupils included Leonardo da Vinci,
Pietro 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. E ...
and
Lorenzo di Credi Lorenzo di Credi (1456/59 – January 12, 1537) was an Italian Renaissance painter and sculptor best known for his paintings of religious subjects. He is most famous for having worked in the studio of Andrea del Verrocchio at the same time ...
. His greatest importance was as a sculptor and his last work, the Equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni in
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  ...
, is generally accepted as a masterpiece.


Life

Verrocchio was born in Florence in around 1435. His father, Michele di Francesco Cioni, initially worked as a tile and brick maker, then later as a tax collector. Verrocchio never married, and had to provide financial support for some members of his family. He was at first apprenticed to a goldsmith. It has been suggested that he was later apprenticed to Donatello, but there is no evidence of this and John Pope-Hennessy considered that it is contradicted by the style of his early works. It has been suggested that he was trained as a painter under Fra Filippo Lippi. Little is known about his life. His main works are dated in his last twenty years and his advancement owed much to the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici and his son Piero. His workshop was in Florence where he was a member of the Guild of St Luke. Several great artists like Leonardo da Vinci and
Lorenzo di Credi Lorenzo di Credi (1456/59 – January 12, 1537) was an Italian Renaissance painter and sculptor best known for his paintings of religious subjects. He is most famous for having worked in the studio of Andrea del Verrocchio at the same time ...
passed through his workshop as apprentices. Beyond this, artists like Domenico Ghirlandaio, Francesco Botticini, and
Pietro 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. E ...
were also involved and their early works can be hard to distinguish from works by Verrocchio.
Giovanni Santi Giovanni Santi (c. 1435 – 1 August 1494) was an Italian painter, decorator, and the father of Raphael. He was born in 1435 at Colbordolo in the Duchy of Urbino. He studied under Piero della Francesca and was influenced by Fiorenzo di Lorenz ...
records that Botticelli, Luca Signorelli, and a young Filippino Lippi also visited or worked in Verrocchio's studio. Of the artist's pedagogy the Florentine poet Ugolino Verino wrote: "Whatever painters have that is good they drank from Verrocchio’s spring". At the end of his life, Verrocchio opened a new workshop in
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  ...
, where he was working on the statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni, leaving the Florentine workshop in charge of Lorenzo di Credi. He died in Venice in 1488.


Painting

Despite the importance of Verrocchio's workshop in the training of younger painters, very few paintings are universally recognised as his own work and there are many problems of attribution. A painting of the Madonna with seated child in tempera on panel (now in the
Berlin State Museums The Berlin State Museums (german: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) are a group of institutions in Berlin, Germany, comprising seventeen museums in five clusters, several research institutes, libraries, and supporting facilities. They are oversee ...
, Gemäldegalerie) is considered an early work of 1468–1470. A painting in the National Gallery in London (cat. no.NG2508) of the Virgin and Child with two angels in tempera on panel, which had not previously been attributed to Verrocchio, was cleaned and restored about 2010 and is now attributed to him with a date of about 1467–1469. A small painting on panel of Tobias setting out on his journey with the Archangel Raphael, carrying the fish with which he was to heal his father's blindness, was probably painted as a private devotional picture. It is an early work which has formerly been attributed to Pollaiuolo and other artists. Covi thinks that it was probably painted with assistance from Ghirlandaio. It is now in London at the National Gallery. The '' Baptism of Christ'', now in the
Uffizi Gallery The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian muse ...
at Florence, was painted in 1474–75. In this work Verrocchio was assisted by Leonardo da Vinci, then a youth and a member of his workshop, who painted the angel on the left and the part of the background above. According to Giorgio Vasari, Andrea resolved never to touch the brush again because Leonardo, his pupil, had far surpassed him, but later critics consider this story apocryphal. The ''Madonna enthroned with John the Baptist and St Donato'' is in the
Pistoia Cathedral Pistoia Cathedral, or Cathedral of Saint Zeno ( it, Duomo di Pistoia or ''Cattedrale di San Zeno'') is the main religious building of Pistoia, Tuscany, central Italy, located in the ''Piazza del Duomo'' in the centre of the city. It is the seat ...
. It had been left unfinished and was completed by
Lorenzo di Credi Lorenzo di Credi (1456/59 – January 12, 1537) was an Italian Renaissance painter and sculptor best known for his paintings of religious subjects. He is most famous for having worked in the studio of Andrea del Verrocchio at the same time ...
when Verrocchio was in Venice near the end of his life.


Sculpture

Around 1465 Verrocchio is believed to have worked on the lavabo of the Old Sacristy in San Lorenzo, Florence. Between 1465 and 1467 he executed the funerary monument to
Cosimo de' Medici Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici (27 September 1389 – 1 August 1464) was an Italian banker and politician who established the Medici family as effective rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance. His power derived from his wealth ...
for the
crypt A crypt (from Latin '' crypta'' " vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a c ...
under the altar of the same church, and in 1472 he completed the monument to Piero and Giovanni de' Medici in the Old Sacristy. In 1467 the Tribunale della Mercanzia, the judicial organ of the Guilds in Florence, commissioned from Verrocchio a bronze group portraying '' Christ and St. Thomas'' for the central niche of the east facade of
Orsanmichele Orsanmichele (; "Kitchen Garden of St. Michael", from the Tuscan contraction of the Italian word ''orto'') is a church in the Italian city of Florence. The building was constructed on the site of the kitchen garden of the monastery of San Mich ...
, which the Tribunale had recently purchased, to replace a statue of St. Louis of Toulouse, which had been removed. He therefore had the problem of placing two statues (more than life size) in a niche originally intended for one. As Covi says, the problem was resolved "in a most felicitous manner". The work was placed in position in 1483 and "has been acclaimed since the day of its unveiling and almost without exception recognised as a masterpiece." In 1468 Verrocchio made a bronze candlestick (1.57metres high), now in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, for the Signoria of Florence. Also in 1468 he contracted to make a golden ball (''palla'') to be placed on top of the lantern of
Brunelleschi Filippo Brunelleschi ( , , also known as Pippo; 1377 – 15 April 1446), considered to be a founding father of Renaissance architecture, was an Italian architect, designer, and sculptor, and is now recognized to be the first modern engineer, ...
's cupola on the Duomo in Florence. The ball was ingeniously made of sheets of copper soldered together and hammered into shape and then gilded. It was completed by the spring of 1471. (The cross on top was made by other hands). The ball was struck by lightning and fell on 27January 1601 but was reconstructed in 1602. In the early 1470s he made a voyage to
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 ...
, while in 1474 he executed the Forteguerri monument for the Cathedral of
Pistoia Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a ty ...
, which he left unfinished. A bronze statue of ''David'' was commissioned by Piero de'Medici. On grounds of style and technique it was dated by Butterfield to the mid-1460s; he considered it a masterpiece of Verrocchio's early career. It was purchased by the
Signoria of Florence The Signoria of Florence (Italian: "lordship") was the government of the medieval and Renaissance Republic of Florence, between 1250 and 1532. Its nine members, the ''Priori'', were chosen from the ranks of the guilds of the city: six of them f ...
from Piero's heirs Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici in 1476 and is now at 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'' appear ...
in Florence. Verrocchio's David is a young lad, modestly clad, contrasting with Donatello's provocative ''
David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
''. For this figure, the Master is purported to have used the young Leonardo, a newcomer to his workshop, as his model. At a date unknown (suggestions range from 1465 to 1480: Pope-Hennessy said about 1470) he finished in bronze a
Putto A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and sometimes winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University of ...
(winged boy) with Dolphin, originally intended for a fountain in the
Medici villa of Careggi The Villa Medici at Careggi is a patrician villa in the hills near Florence, Tuscany, central Italy. History The villa was among the first of a number of Medici villas, notable as the site of the Platonic Academy founded by Cosimo de' Medici, w ...
and later brought to Florence for a fountain in the Palazzo della Signoria by the Grand Duke Cosimo de' Medici. It was replaced with a copy by Bruno Bearzi and since 1959 has been kept in a room in the
Palazzo Vecchio The Palazzo Vecchio ( "Old Palace") is the town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the Piazza della Signoria, which holds a copy of Michelangelo's ''David'' statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi. Originally ...
. The marble bust of a lady with a bunch of flowers (''
Dama col mazzolino ''Woman with Flowers'' ( it, Dama col mazzolino or it, Gentildonna dalle belle mani) is a marble sculpture in height executed by Andrea del Verrocchio between 1475 and 1480. It is in the Bargello Museum in Florence. The identity of the woman ...
'') 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'' appear ...
at Florence is probably from the later 1470s. The identity of the lady is unknown. The relief for the funerary monument of Francesca Tornabuoni for Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome is also now in the Bargello at Florence. Verrochio had been at work in the Funerary Monument to Cardinal Niccolo Forteguerri, Pistoia, when he departed for Venice in 1483.


Statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni

In 1475 the
Condottiero ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Euro ...
Colleoni The House of Colleoni was a Guelf-allied noble family in medieval Bergamo. Their Ghibelline opponents were the Suardi family, of which the Colleoni themselves were a branch. History When the Visconti of Milan seized Bergamo, they exiled the ...
, a former Captain General of the
Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...
, died and by his will left a substantial part of his estate to the Republic on condition that a statue of himself should be commissioned and set up in 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 1479 the Republic announced that it would accept the legacy, but that (as statues were not permitted in the Piazza) the statue would be placed in the open space in front of the ''Scuola'' San Marco. A competition was arranged to enable a sculptor to be selected. Three sculptors competed for the contract, Verrocchio from Florence,
Alessandro Leopardi Alessandro Leopardi (sometimes called Leopardo) (1466 – 1512) was a Venetian sculptor, bronze founder and architect. Biography Leopardi was born and died in Venice. He is first heard of in 1482 and is said to have worked at the mint. He wa ...
from Venice and Bartolomeo Vellano from
Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
. Verrocchio made a model of his proposed sculpture using wood and black leather, while the others made models of wax and clay. The three models were exhibited in Venice in 1483 and the contract was awarded to Verrocchio. He then opened a workshop in Venice and made the final clay model which was ready to be cast in bronze, but he died in 1488, before this was done. He had asked that his pupil Lorenzo di Credi, who was then in charge of his workshop in Florence, should be entrusted with the finishing of the statue, but after the considerable delay the Venetian state commissioned
Alessandro Leopardi Alessandro Leopardi (sometimes called Leopardo) (1466 – 1512) was a Venetian sculptor, bronze founder and architect. Biography Leopardi was born and died in Venice. He is first heard of in 1482 and is said to have worked at the mint. He wa ...
to do this. The statue was eventually erected on a pedestal made by Leopardi in the Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice, where it stands today. Leopardi cast the bronze very successfully and the statue is universally admired, but Pope-Hennessy suggests that, if Verrocchio had been able to do this himself, he would have finished the head and other parts more smoothly and made it even better than it is. Although it was not placed where Colleoni had intended, Passavent emphasised how fine it looks in its actual position, writing that "the magnificent sense of movement in this figure is shown to superb advantage in its present setting" and that, as sculpture, "it far surpasses anything the century had yet aspired to or thought possible". He points out that both man and horse are equally fine and together are inseparable parts of the sculpture. Verrocchio is unlikely to have ever seen Colleoni and the statue is not a portrait of the man but of the idea of a strong and ruthless military commander "bursting with titanic power and energy". This is in contrast to Donatello's statue at Padua of the condottiere known as Gattamelata with its "air of calm command" and all Verrocchio's effort "has been devoted to the rendering of movement and of a sense of strain and energy". Peter & Linda Murray: ''Penguin Dictionary of Art & Artists'' under 'Verrocchio'


References


Further reading

* Brown, David Alan (2003). ''Virtue and Beauty: Leonardo's Ginevra de' Benci and Renaissance Portraits of Women''. Princeton University Press. * * * Freiberg, Jack (2010): "Verrocchio's Putto and Medici Love". David A. Levine, & Jack Freiberg (Eds.), Medieval Renaissance Baroque: A Cat's Cradle for Marilyn Aronberg Lavin. New York: Italica Press, pp. 83–100. * * Pope-Hennessy, John: ''Italian Renaissance Sculpture'' (London 1958) * Syson, Luke & Jill Dunkerton: "Andrea del Verrocchio's first surviving panel and other early works" in ''
Burlington Magazine ''The Burlington Magazine'' is a monthly publication that covers the fine and decorative arts of all periods. Established in 1903, it is the longest running art journal in the English language. It has been published by a charitable organisation si ...
'' Vol.CLIII No.1299 (June 2011) pp. 368–378. *


External links


World Gallery of Art
This has a biography and excellent reproductions of some of his works

*
''Encyclopædia Britannica''
Good biography of Andrea del Verrocchio
Andrea Verrocchio: 16th-century biography by Vasari
A reprint of Vasari's biography (not entirely reliable)
''Leonardo da Vinci: anatomical drawings from the Royal Library, Windsor Castle''
exhibition catalog fully online as PDF from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Andrea del Verrocchio (see index) {{DEFAULTSORT:Verrocchio, Andrea Del 1430s births 1488 deaths Painters from Florence 15th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Italian Renaissance painters Renaissance sculptors Year of birth uncertain 15th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors