Pagno di Lapo Portigiani
Encyclopedia
Pagno di Lapo Portigiani (1408 — 1470) was an Italian Renaissance decorative sculptor, a minor follower of Donatello
who worked on numerous occasions in projects designed and supervised by Michelozzo
.
, near Florence
.
In 1426-28 Pagno di Lapo was working as a stone-cutter in the joint shop of Donatello and Michelozzo in Pisa
, during the production of the Coscia and Brancacci tombs. In 1428 he collaborated with two obscure stone-cutters on the decorative elements of the baptismal font in the Duomo of Siena, and as a garzone in Donatello's shop in connection with the resumed work on the pulpit for Prato, 1434. In Florence he was occupied between 1448 and 1451 with decorative carving executed concurrently for the Basilica of San Lorenzo and Palazzo Medici (both projects under Michelozzo again). Documents show that he was working on chapels for the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna
between 1451 to about 1469, never designated there as a scultore but as a stone-cutter or marble-worker. Nevertheless, he is credited with designing Palazzo Isolani (via Santo Stefano 18) which was built between 1451-55.
Basing their attributions on Giorgio Vasari
, a significant number of Early Renaissance sculptures have been associated with Pagno's name since the late nineteenth century, most notably the Madonna and Child at the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. Modern scholars, however, assign to Michelozzo other sculptures Vasari assigns to Pagno di Lapo in the same passage, which Vasari had claimed for Michelozzo in the first edition of his Lives, and more recent documentation reassigns to Pagno di Lupo a less exalted role as a sculptor of decorative stonework.
When Piero de' Medici planned to commission a marble tabernacle in the Gothic Chiesa della Santissima Annunziata
, the church of the Servi di Maria, Florence, he consulted Michelozzo, who seems to have provided the design, but left the execution of its architectural enframement to Pagno di Lapo, whose inscription runs round the inside of the architrave. Vasari, in noticing the inscription in time for his revision of Le Vite, revised his attribution of other sculptures at the Santissima Annunziata, attributing to Pagno metalwork that documents actually show to have been supplied by Maso di Bartolomeo, doubtless under Michelozzo's supervision; Vasari added to his attributions the Madonna and Child relief illustrated above, which was already in the Opera del Duomo. On this slender basis early twentieth-century scholars erected an increased oeuvre for Pagno di Lapo, until in 1942 H.W. Jansen related the relief to a group of reliefs of the Madonna and Child, recognized as by the youthful Agostino di Duccio
, under the influence of Luca della Robbia
.
The sole surviving identifiable work by Pagno di Lapo is the inscribed tabernacle frame, which Jansen found "shows him to have been a skillful carver of ornament, but the plastic décor of the structure contains so little of true sculpture that it yields small evidence of his artistic ability." Jansen considered the possibility that the altar table from the tabernacle, now in the Museo Bardini, Florence, was also Pagno's.
Donatello
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi , also known as Donatello, was an early Renaissance Italian artist and sculptor from Florence...
who worked on numerous occasions in projects designed and supervised by Michelozzo
Michelozzo
thumb|250px|[[Palazzo Medici]] in Florence.Michelozzo di Bartolomeo Michelozzi was an Italian architect and sculptor.-Biography:...
.
Biography
Pagno di Lapo was born at FiesoleFiesole
Fiesole is a town and comune of the province of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a famously scenic height above Florence, 8 km NE of that city...
, near Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
.
In 1426-28 Pagno di Lapo was working as a stone-cutter in the joint shop of Donatello and Michelozzo in Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
, during the production of the Coscia and Brancacci tombs. In 1428 he collaborated with two obscure stone-cutters on the decorative elements of the baptismal font in the Duomo of Siena, and as a garzone in Donatello's shop in connection with the resumed work on the pulpit for Prato, 1434. In Florence he was occupied between 1448 and 1451 with decorative carving executed concurrently for the Basilica of San Lorenzo and Palazzo Medici (both projects under Michelozzo again). Documents show that he was working on chapels for the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
between 1451 to about 1469, never designated there as a scultore but as a stone-cutter or marble-worker. Nevertheless, he is credited with designing Palazzo Isolani (via Santo Stefano 18) which was built between 1451-55.
Basing their attributions on 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:...
, a significant number of Early Renaissance sculptures have been associated with Pagno's name since the late nineteenth century, most notably the Madonna and Child at the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. Modern scholars, however, assign to Michelozzo other sculptures Vasari assigns to Pagno di Lapo in the same passage, which Vasari had claimed for Michelozzo in the first edition of his Lives, and more recent documentation reassigns to Pagno di Lupo a less exalted role as a sculptor of decorative stonework.
When Piero de' Medici planned to commission a marble tabernacle in the Gothic Chiesa della Santissima Annunziata
Basilica della Santissima Annunziata di Firenze
The Basilica della Santissima Annunziata is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in Florence, Italy, the mother church of the Servite order. It is located at the northeastern side of the Piazza Santissima Annunziata....
, the church of the Servi di Maria, Florence, he consulted Michelozzo, who seems to have provided the design, but left the execution of its architectural enframement to Pagno di Lapo, whose inscription runs round the inside of the architrave. Vasari, in noticing the inscription in time for his revision of Le Vite, revised his attribution of other sculptures at the Santissima Annunziata, attributing to Pagno metalwork that documents actually show to have been supplied by Maso di Bartolomeo, doubtless under Michelozzo's supervision; Vasari added to his attributions the Madonna and Child relief illustrated above, which was already in the Opera del Duomo. On this slender basis early twentieth-century scholars erected an increased oeuvre for Pagno di Lapo, until in 1942 H.W. Jansen related the relief to a group of reliefs of the Madonna and Child, recognized as by the youthful Agostino di Duccio
Agostino di Duccio
Agostino di Duccio was an Italian early Renaissance sculptor.Born in Florence, he worked in Prato with Donatello and Michelozzo, who influenced him greatly. In 1441, he was accused of stealing precious materials from a monastery in Florence and was banished from his native city as a result...
, under the influence of Luca della Robbia
Luca della Robbia
Luca della Robbia was an Italian sculptor from Florence, noted for his terra-cotta roundels.Luca Della Robbia developed a pottery glaze that made his creations more durable in the outdoors and thus suitable for use on the exterior of buildings. His work is noted for its charm rather than the drama...
.
The sole surviving identifiable work by Pagno di Lapo is the inscribed tabernacle frame, which Jansen found "shows him to have been a skillful carver of ornament, but the plastic décor of the structure contains so little of true sculpture that it yields small evidence of his artistic ability." Jansen considered the possibility that the altar table from the tabernacle, now in the Museo Bardini, Florence, was also Pagno's.