Verrocchio, Andrea del (1435–1488)

Sculptor, goldsmith, and painter renowned for his monumental works in bronze. He was born as Andrea di Michele di Francesco di Cioni in Florence and was the son of a brick maker. Historians know very few details of his youth or his apprenticeship as an artist. He joined the workshop of Giulio Verrocchi, whose name he took as his own; he may also have studied with Fra Filippo Lippi. Verrocchio was commissioned in 1465 by the traders guild of Florence to create a work for the church of Orsanmichele. The result was his Christ and St. Thomas (also known as the Doubting of Thomas ), which was finally completed in 1483 and which immediately drew the admiration for its dramatic arrangement and ingenious use of a confined space.

Verrocchio enjoyed a high reputation in Florence and drew many skilled young painters to his workshop, including Perugino, Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, and Leonardo da Vinci. As a painter, Verrocchio is best known for his Baptism of Christ, in which he was assisted by his young apprentice Leonardo da Vinci, who completed a dramatic natural backdrop and the head of an angel. Verrocchio also completed an altarpiece for the cathedral of Pistoia, a Crucifixion with Saints, Madonna with Child (the only painting that he signed), and Tobias and the Angel.

He won several important commissions from the Medici rulers of Florence, including funerary monuments to Cosimo de' Medici and monuments to Giovanni, and Piero de' Medici that were placed in the sacristy of the church of San Lorenzo. For the Villa Medici at Careggi, Verrocchio created a sculpture of David, showing the young man just after his victory over Goliath. This work was later sold to the Signoria of Florence and displayed in the main square of Venice for several centuries. Verrocchio also was a skilled sculptor in marble, in which he completed a celebrated Bust of a Young Woman. His grandest work was the design for an equestrian monument of the mercenary Bartolommeo Colleoni. This work is known for its dynamic motion, in which the horse raises one of its legs, boldly preparing for a charge into battle. The statue was cast after Verrocchio's death and still rises in the Campo San Giovanni e Paolo in Venice.

See Also: Botticelli, Sandro; Leonardo da Vinci; sculpture