Agostino da Siena or Agostino di Giovanni () was an Italian architect and sculptor, active between 1310 and 1347.

Biography

According to the Italian Renaissance biographer

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 ...

, Agostino was born into a Sienese family of sculptors and architects, and studied in the workshop of

Giovanni Pisano Giovanni Pisano (c. 1250 – c. 1315) was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect, who worked in the cities of Pisa, Siena and Pistoia. He is best known for his sculpture which shows the influence of both the French Gothic and the Ancient ...

. In 1285, aged only fifteen, he would collaborate in the façade of the

Cathedral of Siena A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

with Giovanni. However, modern scholars assign his birth around 1285 and that he perhaps studied in the workshop of Camaino di Crescentino, the father of

Tino di Camaino 300px, Tomb of Antonio d'Orso, in Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence.">Florence.html" ;"title="Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence">Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence. Tino di Camaino (c. 1280 – c. 1337) was an Italian sculptor. Born in Siena, the s ...

. He is often documented as collaborator of other artists, such as Agnolo di Ventura, with whom he executed the

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

Guido Tarlati 370px, Panel from Guido Tarlati's tomb representing the capture of the castle of Caprese. Guido Tarlati (died 1327) was a lord and Bishop of Arezzo. Tarlati was a member of the leading Ghibelline family of Arezzo, who were centered in their fi ...

in the

Cathedral of Arezzo Arezzo Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale di Arezzo, Duomo di Arezzo, Cattedrale di Ss. Donato e Pietro) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Arezzo in Tuscany, Italy. It is located on the site of a pre-existing Palaeo-Christian church and, per ...

(signed and dated 1330). Vasari mentions Agnolo and Agostino in several commissions from the commune of Siena, including the Porta Romana and the

Torre del Mangia The Torre del Mangia is a tower in Siena, in the Tuscany region of Italy. Built in 1338-1348, it is located in the Piazza del Campo, Siena's main square, next to the Palazzo Pubblico (Town Hall). When built it was one of the tallest secular ...

; his collaboration at the construction is documented in 1339. He is also mentioned in regard with the construction of fortifications at

Massa Marittima Massa Marittima (Latin: ''Massa Veternensis'') is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Grosseto, southern Tuscany, Italy, 49 km NNW of Grosseto. There are mineral springs, mines of iron, mercury, lignite and copper, with foundries, iron ...

. Agostino's exact date of death is unknown, although a document of 27 June 1347 mentions him as no more living. His sons Giovanni and Domenico were also sculptors.

Sources

* 1280s births 1340s deaths People from Siena 14th-century Italian architects 14th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors {{Italy-architect-stub