born c. 1454, Perugia, Romagna [Italy]
died Dec. 11, 1513, Siena, republic of Siena
original name Bernardino Di Betto Di Biago early Italian Renaissance
painter known for his highly decorative frescoes.
By 1481 Pinturicchio was associated with the Umbrian artist Perugino,
whose influence on him was to be permanent. It is generally agreed that
he assisted Perugino on some of the frescoes (“Journey of Moses” and the
“Baptism of Christ”) in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican (1481/82). In
the 1480s he workedin the Bufalini Chapel in Santa Maria in Aracoeli and
in Santa Maria del Popolo (both in Rome).
Pinturicchio's most important work of this period was the decoration of
the suite of six rooms in the Vatican known as the Borgia Apartments for
Pope Alexander VI between 1492 and 1494. In these frescoes he retains
Perugino's figure types but lacks his clarity of conception. Instead,
Pinturicchio relies on brilliant, often jarring colours, gilding, and
ancient Roman ornamental motifs.
Pinturicchio's last major works were the 10 scenes from the life of Pope
Pius II painted (1503–08) in fresco in the Piccolomini Library of Siena
Cathedral. In these, space, colour, and detail are handled with a crisp
proficiency that may have influenced Raphael.
Andrea (di Cristoforo)
Bregno
(b Osteno, nr Lugano, 1418; d Rome,
Sept 1503).
Italian architect and sculptor. Nothing
is known of Bregno’s activity until his arrival in
Rome in the 1460s, although his early works betray a
Lombard training. During the pontificate of Sixtus
IV he became the most popular and prolific sculptor
of his day, with a large and well-organized bottega.
He worked mainly on the decoration of tombs of
prelates and dignitaries of the papal court. Bregno
became famous in his lifetime and was mentioned,
together with Verrocchio, by Giovanni Santi in La
vita e le geste di Federico di Montefeltro duca
d’Urbino, written between 1484 and 1487. The
writer of a funeral epitaph actually compared him
with Polykleitos. Bregno’s work is characterized by
great refinement and technical skill. Although he
was often not particularly inventive, he was
certainly a fine sculptor of grotesques and other
forms of ornamentation. He soon fell under the
influence of Tuscan models, probably as a result of
his contact with Mino da Fiesole, with whom he
worked in Rome. There his style became more
classical and its design more compact, with precise
references to antique sculpture: documents show that
he possessed a collection of antique objects
recovered from excavations. He was also a friend of
Platina, who held him in high esteem, as he wrote in
a letter to Lorenzo the Magnificent.
Piccolomini Altar
1503
Marble
Duomo, Siena
Cantoria
1480s
Marble
Cappella Sistina, Vatican
Gateway
1480s
Marble
Cappella Sistina, Vatican
Monument of Cardinal Nicola de Cusa
Marble
S. Pietro in Vincoli, Rome
Pietro
Lombardo[Pietro Solari]
(b Carona, Lombardy, c. 1435; d
Venice, June 1515).
Sculptor and architect. He is first documented in Bologna,
where he rented a workshop at S Petronio between July 1462
and May 1463, presumably to work on some commission for the
cathedral, perhaps the Rossi Chapel chancel (Beck, 1968). By
1464 he and his family had moved to Padua, where his most
important work was the wall tomb of Doge Antonio Roselli
in S Antonio (Il Santo), which he designed in early 1464 and
finished by 8 April 1467 (Moschetti, 1913, 1914). The
Roselli tomb introduced the 15th-century Florentine
humanist tomb type into the region and marks the beginning
of true Renaissance sculpture in the Veneto. Its derivation
from the Carlo Marsuppini monument in Santa Croce,
Florence, by Desiderio da Settignano suggests that Pietro
visited Florence during his sojourn in Bologna. Pietro
interpreted the Florentine model in a way that became
characteristic of later Venetian tombs. He transformed it
into a more heavily decorated and imposing tomb through the
addition of a high base, monumental flanking pilasters, long
decorative relief swags and an ornate cornice. At this date
he also completed some architectural projects in Padua and
Vicenza.
Allegorical Figure c. 1485
Madonna and Child c. 1475
Philoctetes on the
Island of Lemnos
Monument to Jacopo Marcello
Marble
Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice
Monument to Generosa Orsini
c. 1500
Marble
Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice
Monument of Pietro Mocenigo
1476-81
Istrian stone and marble
Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice
Monument of Pietro Mocenigo (detail)
1476-81
Marble
Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice