Giovanni Francesco Rustici
Encyclopedia
Giovanni Francesco Rustici (1474–1554) was an Italian
Renaissance painter
and sculptor.
He was born into a noble family of Florence, with an independent income. Rustici profited from study of the Medici sculpture in the garden at San Marco, and Vasari
said that Lorenzo de' Medici
placed him in the studio of Verrocchio, and that after Verrocchio's departure for Venice, he placed himself with Leonardo da Vinci
, who had also trained in Verocchio's workshop. He shared lodgings with Leonardo while he was working on the bronze figures for the Baptistry, for which he was ill paid and resolved, according to Vasari, not to work again on a public commission. At this time, Pomponius Gauricus, in De sculptura (1504), named him one of the principal sculptors of Tuscany, the peer of Benedetto da Maiano
, Andrea Sansovino
and Michelangelo
.
Vasari tells of the elaborate suppers given by Rustici and his comrades.
Rustici's Mercury was commissioned by Cardinal Giuliano de' Medici
in 1515 as a fountain figure for the courtyard of Palazzo Medici in Florence. The figure blew a jet of water that spun a whirligig
with four vanes in the form of butterfly wings, according to Giorgio Vasari
's description. According to James Draper, Rustici's figure drew inspiration from the mid-fifteenth century gilt-bronze fountain Winged Infant now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
. Vasari praised the sculpture, now in the Boscawen collection at the Fitzwilliam Museum
, Cambridge.
At the time of the siege of Florence, 1528, he went to France, where he was pensioned by King Francis I
but after the king's death died in poverty at Tours
.
Baccio Bandinelli apprenticed with Rustici.
Some glazed terracotta bas-reliefs in the technique familiar from the della Robbia
workshops, are attributed to Rustici, notably a Madonna and Child in the Bargello
and a Saint John the Baptist in the Museum of Fine Arts
, Boston.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Renaissance painter
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
and sculptor.
He was born into a noble family of Florence, with an independent income. Rustici profited from study of the Medici sculpture in the garden at San Marco, and Vasari
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect, who is famous today for his biographies of Italian artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.-Biography:...
said that Lorenzo de' Medici
Lorenzo de' Medici
Lorenzo de' Medici was an Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance. Known as Lorenzo the Magnificent by contemporary Florentines, he was a diplomat, politician and patron of scholars, artists and poets...
placed him in the studio of Verrocchio, and that after Verrocchio's departure for Venice, he placed himself with Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
, who had also trained in Verocchio's workshop. He shared lodgings with Leonardo while he was working on the bronze figures for the Baptistry, for which he was ill paid and resolved, according to Vasari, not to work again on a public commission. At this time, Pomponius Gauricus, in De sculptura (1504), named him one of the principal sculptors of Tuscany, the peer of Benedetto da Maiano
Benedetto da Maiano
Benedetto da Maiano was an Italian sculptor of the early Renaissance.Born in the village of Maiano , he started his career as companion of his brother, the architect Giuliano da Maiano. When he reached the age of thirty he started training under the sculptor Antonio Rossellino...
, Andrea Sansovino
Andrea Sansovino
Andrea dal Monte Sansovino or Andrea Contucci del Monte San Savino was an Italian sculptor active during the High Renaissance...
and Michelangelo
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
.
Vasari tells of the elaborate suppers given by Rustici and his comrades.
Rustici's Mercury was commissioned by Cardinal Giuliano de' Medici
Pope Clement VII
Clement VII , born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, was a cardinal from 1513 to 1523 and was Pope from 1523 to 1534.-Early life:...
in 1515 as a fountain figure for the courtyard of Palazzo Medici in Florence. The figure blew a jet of water that spun a whirligig
Whirligig
A whirligig is an object that spins or whirls, or has at least one member that spins or whirls. Whirligigs are also known as pinwheels, buzzers, comic weathervanes, gee-haws, spinners, whirlygigs; whirlijig; whirlyjig; whirlybird; or plain whirly. Whirligigs are most commonly powered by the wind,...
with four vanes in the form of butterfly wings, according to Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect, who is famous today for his biographies of Italian artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.-Biography:...
's description. According to James Draper, Rustici's figure drew inspiration from the mid-fifteenth century gilt-bronze fountain Winged Infant now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
. Vasari praised the sculpture, now in the Boscawen collection at the Fitzwilliam Museum
Fitzwilliam Museum
The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge, located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge, England. It receives around 300,000 visitors annually. Admission is free....
, Cambridge.
At the time of the siege of Florence, 1528, he went to France, where he was pensioned by King Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
but after the king's death died in poverty at Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
.
Baccio Bandinelli apprenticed with Rustici.
Some glazed terracotta bas-reliefs in the technique familiar from the della Robbia
Della Robbia
Della Robbia may refer to:*Luca della Robbia , Italian sculptor*Andrea della Robbia , Italian sculptor, nephew of Luca*Giovanni della Robbia , son of Andrea*Girolamo della Robbia , son of Andrea...
workshops, are attributed to Rustici, notably a Madonna and Child in the Bargello
Bargello
The Bargello, also known as the Bargello Palace or Palazzo del Popolo is a former barracks and prison, now an art museum, in Florence, Italy.-Terminology:...
and a Saint John the Baptist in the Museum of Fine Arts
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
, Boston.
Major works
- Bust of Boccaccio (1503) for Giovanni BoccaccioGiovanni BoccaccioGiovanni Boccaccio was an Italian author and poet, a friend, student, and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist and the author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular...
's funeral monument at CertaldoCertaldoCertaldo is a town and comune of Tuscany, Italy, in the province of Florence, located in the middle of Valdelsa. It is about 35 kilometers southwest of the Florence Duomo....
http://www.comune.certaldo.fi.it/turismo/ss_if_eg.htm. - John the Baptist with the Pharisee and the Levite. Three figures on the BaptisteryBattistero di San Giovanni (Florence)The Florence Baptistry or Battistero di San Giovanni is a religious building in Florence , Italy, which has the status of a minor basilica....
, Florence. The work was commissioned in 1506 to replace Late Gothic figures by Tino da Camaino. - Mercury taking Flight. Commissioned by Cardinal Giulio de' Medici (later Pope Clement VIIPope Clement VIIClement VII , born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, was a cardinal from 1513 to 1523 and was Pope from 1523 to 1534.-Early life:...
), to decorate a fountain in the garden court of Palazzo Medici, Florence, probably in 1515. It was probably installed above the fountain bowl that originally held Donatello's 'Judith'. - The Infant Jesus and Saint John the Baptist. Bas-relief marble and onyx tondo. Louvre Museum.
- Virgin and Child Bas-relief bronze plaque, attributed to Rustici. Louvre Museum.
- Battle scene. Terracotta. A horseman and four assailants, showing the influence of Leonardo's drawings. Louvre Museum.
- Fountain, the design attributed to Leonardo. Formerly at Woolbeding House, Surrey (Victoria and Albert MuseumVictoria and Albert MuseumThe Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
)