Antonio del Pollaiuolo ( , , ; 17 January 1429/14334 February 1498), also known as Antonio di Jacopo Pollaiuolo or Antonio Pollaiuolo (also spelled Pollaiolo), was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, engraver, and

goldsmith A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and servicea ...

during the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

Biography

Antonio del Pollaiolo - Tobias and the Angel - WGA18047

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 ...

. His brother, Piero del Pollaiuolo, was also an artist, and the two frequently worked together. Their work shows both classical influences and an interest in

human anatomy The human body is the structure of a human being. It is composed of many different types of cells that together create tissues and subsequently organ systems. They ensure homeostasis and the viability of the human body. It comprises a hea ...

; reportedly, the brothers carried out

dissection Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause o ...

s to improve their knowledge of the subject. They took their nickname from the trade of their father, who in fact sold poultry (''pollaio'' meaning "hen coop" in

). Antonio's first studies of goldsmithing and metalworking were under either his father or

Andrea del Castagno Andrea del Castagno () or Andrea di Bartolo di Bargilla (; – 19 August 1457) was an Italian painter from Florence, influenced chiefly by Masaccio and Giotto di Bondone. His works include frescoes in Sant'Apollonia in Florence and the pain ...

: the latter probably taught him also in painting. Other sources relate that he worked in the Florentine workshop of Bartoluccio di Michele, where

Lorenzo Ghiberti Lorenzo Ghiberti (, , ; 1378 – 1 December 1455), born Lorenzo di Bartolo, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Florence, a key figure in the Early Renaissance, best known as the creator of two sets of bronze doors of the Florence Baptistery ...

also received his training. During this time, he also took an interest in engraving. Some of Pollaiuolo's painting exhibits strong brutality, of which the characteristics can be studied in his portrayal of

Saint Sebastian Saint Sebastian (in Latin: ''Sebastianus''; Narbo, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire c. AD 255 – Rome, Italia, Roman Empire c. AD 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocle ...

, painted in 1473–1475 for the Pucci Chapel of the SS. Annunziata. However, in contrast, his female portraits exhibit a calmness and a meticulous attention to detail of fashion, as was the norm in late fifteenth-century portraiture. He achieved his greatest successes as a sculptor and metal-worker. The exact ascription of his works is doubtful, as his brother Piero did much in collaboration with him. The fifteenth-century addition of the infant twins

Romulus and Remus In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus (, ) are twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the founding of the city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his fratricide of Remus. The image of a she-wolf sucklin ...

to an existing bronze sculpture of the Ancient Roman mythological she-wolf who nursed them has been attributed by some to him.Capitoline Museums: Exhibition "The Capitoline She-Wolf", June–October 2000
He only produced one surviving

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

, the '' Battle of the Nude Men'', but both in its size and sophistication this took the Italian print to new levels, and remains one of the most famous prints of the Renaissance. In 1484 Antonio took up residence 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 ...

, where he executed the tomb of

Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...

, now in the Museum of St. Peter's (finished in 1493), a composition in which he again manifested the quality of exaggeration in the anatomical features of the figures. In 1496 he went to Florence in order to put the finishing touches to the work already begun in the sacristy of Santo Spirito. He died in Rome as a rich man, having just finished his mausoleum of

Pope Innocent VIII Pope Innocent VIII ( la, Innocentius VIII; it, Innocenzo VIII; 1432 – 25 July 1492), born Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1484 to his death in July 1492. Son of th ...

, also in St. Peter's, and was buried in the church of

San Pietro in Vincoli San Pietro in Vincoli (; Saint Peter in Chains) is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, Italy, best known for being the home of Michelangelo's statue of Moses, part of the tomb of Pope Julius II. The '' Titulus S. Petr ...

, where a monument was raised to him near that of his brother. His main contribution to Florentine painting lay in his analysis of the human body in movement or under conditions of strain, but he is also important for his pioneering interest in landscape. His students included

Sandro Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli (, ), was an Italian Renaissance painting, Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th cent ...

Major works

Paintings

File:Antonio del Pollaiolo - Hercules and Antaeus - WGA18030.jpg, '' Hercules and Antaeus'' File:Antonio del Pollaiolo - Ercole e l'Idra e Ercole e Anteo - Google Art Project.jpg, '' Hercules and the Hydra'' File:Antonio del pollaiolo, assunzione di santa maria maddalena, staggia senese.jpg, ''The Assumption of St Mary Magdalene'' File:Pollaiolo, Piero del - Apollo and Daphne.jpg, '' Apollo and Daphne'' *'' The Assumption of St Mary Magdalene'' (c. 1460) – Tempera on panel, Museo della Pala del Pollaiolo,

Staggia Senese Staggia Senese is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Poggibonsi, province of Siena. At the time of the 2001 census its population was 2,129.Altarpiece for the Chapel of the Cardinal of Portugal'' (1467) – Fresco,

San Miniato al Monte San Miniato al Monte (St. Minias on the Mountain) is a basilica in Florence, central Italy, standing atop one of the highest points in the city. It has been described as one of the finest Romanesque structures in Tuscany and one of the most scenic ...

*'' Portrait of a Young Woman'' (c. 1465) – Poplar panel, 52.5 × 36.2 cm, Staatliche Museen,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

*'' The Saints Vincent, James and Eustace'' (1468) – Tempera on wood, 172 × 179 cm,

Uffizi 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 museums ...

*'' Apollo and Daphne'' (1470–1480) – Tempera on wood, 30 × 20 cm,

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

*'' Portrait of a Young Woman'' (c. 1475) – Tempera on wood, 55 × 34 cm,

*'' Hercules and the Hydra'' (c. 1475) – Tempera on wood, 17 × 12 cm,

*'' Hercules and Antaeus'' (c. 1478) – Tempera on wood, 16 × 9 cm,

*'' Portrait of a Girl'' – Panel, Museo Poldi Pezzoli,

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 ...

*'' Hercules and Deianira'' – Oil on canvas,

Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is the oldest university art museum in the Western Hemisphere. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. ...

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

Sculptures

File:Antonio del pollaiolo, ercole e anteo, 01.JPG, ''Hercules and Antaeus'' File:The sculpture of Warrior.jpg, ''Bust of a Warrior'' File:Firenze, ercole, 1490 ca. 03.JPG, ''Hercules'' File:Monument to Innocentius VIII in Saint Peter's Basilica.jpg, Tomb of Pope Innocent VIII, Pollaiuolo's second papal tomb File:Hercules pollaiuolo.jpg, ''Hercules'' File:Antonio del pollaiolo (attr.), ritratto di gentildonna, 1460-65 ca., legno dipinto con dorature, 45x41x23 cm, coll. priv. 01.JPG, ''Portrait Bust of a Young Woman'' *'' St Christopher and the Infant Christ'' –

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

, New York *''Hercules'' (1475) –

Bode Museum The Bode-Museum (English: ''Bode Museum''), formerly called the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum (''Emperor Frederick Museum''), is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin. It was built from 1898 to 1904 by order of Germ ...

* ''Tomb of Pope Sixtus IV'' (1493) – St. Peter's Basilica

Engraving

Notes

References

*Giorgio Vasari includes a biography of Pollaiuolo in his ''Lives of the Artists''.

External links

''Leonardo da Vinci, Master Draftsman''
exhibition catalog fully online as PDF from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Antonio del Pollaiuolo (see index)
''The Gubbio Studiolo and its conservation, volumes 1 & 2''
from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Antonio del Pollaiuolo (see index) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pollaiuolo, Antonio Del Italian Renaissance painters Italian Renaissance sculptors Painters from Florence Sculptors from Florence Quattrocento painters 15th-century births 1498 deaths Italian goldsmiths Italian male sculptors Italian printmakers Burials at San Pietro in Vincoli 15th-century people of the Republic of Florence 15th-century Italian painters 15th-century Italian sculptors 15th-century engravers Catholic painters Catholic decorative artists Catholic engravers Catholic sculptors Sibling artists