Alessandro Leopardo
Encyclopedia
Alessandro Leopardi (working by 1480s – 1522/23) was a Venetian sculptor, bronze founder and architect.
Leopardi was born and died at Venice
. His date of birth is not known. He is first heard of in 1482 and is said to have worked at the mint. He was once reputed to have designed the sepulchral monument of doge
Andrea Vendramin
, now in the church of San Giovanni e Paolo
, but this is generally now thought to have been the work of Tullio Lombardo, though Leopardi may have contributed some figures.
In 1479 he submitted a model for the competition initiated by the Signoria in Venice to find a sculptor for an equestrian monument to Bartolomeo Colleoni. Three sculptors submitted models including Andrea Verrocchio to whom the contract was awarded.
Leopardi was exiled for 5 years on a charge of fraud in 1487, and recalled in 1490 by the senate to finish Verrocchio's impressive statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni
, which the Venetians had commissioned him to make in accordance with the provisions of Colleoni's will.
Verocchio, having made the clay model in Venice, had died in 1488, before it had been cast in bronze. He asked in his will that his pupil, Lorenzo di Credi, should be engaged to arrange for it to be cast, but after much delay the Venetians in 1490 selected Leopardi to cast it and he also made the pedestal on which it stands. His name (in Latin) is inscribed on the horse's girth: "ALEXANDER . LEOPARDUS . V . P . OPUS", so that early authorities thought that the work was entirely his. The work is universally admired, though John Pope-Hennessy thought that, if Verrrochio had finished it himself, it would have been even finer.
When Colleoni bequeathed the money for his statue, he stipulated that it should be erected in the Piazza San Marco, but the Venetian state could not allow this and compromised by having it installed near the Scuola San Marco outside the church of SS Giovanni è Paolo, where it stands today.
Leopardi worked between 1503 and 1505 on the chapel of Cardinal Zeno
at St. Mark's
, which was finished by 1515 by Antonio Lombardo
and Tullio Lombardo.
In 1505 he designed and cast the bronze bases, decorated in high relief, for the three great mast-like flagpoles in the Piazza San Marco
. Each base is different and that in the centre has on a medallion a profile of the doge, Leonardo Loredan.
His model for the rebuilding of the Scuola Vecchia della Misericordia in Venice was provisionally accepted by the Scuola in 1507, but little progress was made with the project and in 1531, after Leopardi's death, it was superseded by Sansovino's model, although this also was never completed.
Later, he was engaged on the new church of Santa Giustina in Padua.
After the disastrous fire at the Rialto in January 1514 he was one of the four architects who submitted models for the rebuilding of the area, but the contract was given to Scarpagnino
.
Leopardi was born and died at Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. His date of birth is not known. He is first heard of in 1482 and is said to have worked at the mint. He was once reputed to have designed the sepulchral monument of doge
Doge of Venice
The Doge of Venice , often mistranslated Duke was the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for over a thousand years. Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. Commonly the person selected as Doge was the shrewdest elder in the city...
Andrea Vendramin
Andrea Vendramin
Andrea Vendramin served as Doge of Venice, 1476-78, at the height of Venetian power, the only member of the Vendramin family to do so. His mother, Maria Michiel, and his wife Regina Gradenigo, both came from Dogal families...
, now in the church of San Giovanni e Paolo
Basilica di San Zanipolo
The Basilica di San Giovanni e Paolo, known in the Venetian dialect as San Zanipolo, is a church in Venice, northern Italy. One of the largest churches in the city, it has the status of a minor basilica...
, but this is generally now thought to have been the work of Tullio Lombardo, though Leopardi may have contributed some figures.
In 1479 he submitted a model for the competition initiated by the Signoria in Venice to find a sculptor for an equestrian monument to Bartolomeo Colleoni. Three sculptors submitted models including Andrea Verrocchio to whom the contract was awarded.
Leopardi was exiled for 5 years on a charge of fraud in 1487, and recalled in 1490 by the senate to finish Verrocchio's impressive statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni
Bartolomeo Colleoni
Bartolomeo Colleoni was a Venetian condottiero, who became Captain-General of the republic of Venice, where there is a famous statue showing him on horseback.-Biography:...
, which the Venetians had commissioned him to make in accordance with the provisions of Colleoni's will.
Verocchio, having made the clay model in Venice, had died in 1488, before it had been cast in bronze. He asked in his will that his pupil, Lorenzo di Credi, should be engaged to arrange for it to be cast, but after much delay the Venetians in 1490 selected Leopardi to cast it and he also made the pedestal on which it stands. His name (in Latin) is inscribed on the horse's girth: "ALEXANDER . LEOPARDUS . V . P . OPUS", so that early authorities thought that the work was entirely his. The work is universally admired, though John Pope-Hennessy thought that, if Verrrochio had finished it himself, it would have been even finer.
When Colleoni bequeathed the money for his statue, he stipulated that it should be erected in the Piazza San Marco, but the Venetian state could not allow this and compromised by having it installed near the Scuola San Marco outside the church of SS Giovanni è Paolo, where it stands today.
Leopardi worked between 1503 and 1505 on the chapel of Cardinal Zeno
Giovanni Battista Zeno
Giovanni Battista Zeno was a cardinal of the Catholic Church.He was made a cardinal by his uncle, Pope Paul II in November 1468. The Zeno Chapel in St Mark's Basilica, Venice, was built as his tomb....
at St. Mark's
St Mark's Basilica
The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice, northern Italy. It is the most famous of the city's churches and one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture...
, which was finished by 1515 by Antonio Lombardo
Antonio Lombardo
Antonio "The Scourge" Lombardo was an American mobster. He was advisor, or consigliere, to Al Capone and later President of the Unione Siciliana.-Biography:...
and Tullio Lombardo.
In 1505 he designed and cast the bronze bases, decorated in high relief, for the three great mast-like flagpoles in the Piazza San Marco
Piazza San Marco
Piazza San Marco , is the principal public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as "the Piazza". All other urban spaces in the city are called "campi"...
. Each base is different and that in the centre has on a medallion a profile of the doge, Leonardo Loredan.
His model for the rebuilding of the Scuola Vecchia della Misericordia in Venice was provisionally accepted by the Scuola in 1507, but little progress was made with the project and in 1531, after Leopardi's death, it was superseded by Sansovino's model, although this also was never completed.
Later, he was engaged on the new church of Santa Giustina in Padua.
After the disastrous fire at the Rialto in January 1514 he was one of the four architects who submitted models for the rebuilding of the area, but the contract was given to Scarpagnino
Antonio Abbondi
Antonio Abbondi generally known as Scarpagnino was an Italian architect of the Renaissance period, active mainly in Venice.Born at Grosio, in Valtellina...
.
Books mentioned in the Notes
- Howard, Deborah: Jacopo Sansovino Architecture and Patronage in Renaissance Venice (Yale University.Press. 1975)
- Lorenzetti, Giulio: Venice and its Lagoon (1926. 2nd edn 1956) translated by John Guthrie (Lint, Trieste. 1975)
- Perocco, Guido & Antonio Salvadori: Civiltà di Venezia. Vol.2: Il Rinascimento. (3rd edition, revised and corrected. Venice. 1987)
- Pope-Hennessy, John: Italian Renaissance Sculpture (London 1958)