Jacopo Sansovino

“ Jacopo Sansovino, when Tribolo, now restored to health, went to work under him, was executing in the Office of Works of S. Maria del Fiore, in competition with Benedetto da Rovezzano, Andrea da Fiesole, and Baccio Bandinelli, the marble statue of S. James the Apostle which is still to be seen at the present day at that place together with the others. ”

“ He was on very bad terms with Leonardo da Vinci, Perugino, Francia, Signorelli, Raphael, Bramante, San Gallo. "Cursed be the day on which you ever spoke well of any one!" wrote Jacopo Sansovino to him on June 30, 1517. This did not prevent Michael Angelo being of service to Sansovino later (in 1524) and to many others. But his genius was of too passionate a nature to love any other ideal than his own, and he was too sincere to pretend to love that for which he did not care. However, he showed great courtesy to Titian on the occasion of his visit to Rome in 1545. ”

“ Near by is the little eager S. John the Baptist as a boy by Antonio Rossellino (1427-1478) , and on the next wall the same sculptor's circular relief of the Madonna adoring, in a border of cherubs. In the middle is the masterpiece of Jacopo Sansovino (1486-1570) : a Bacchus, so strangely like a genuine antique, full of Greek lightness and grace. And then we come back to the wall in which the door is, and find more works from the delicate hand of Mino da Fiesole, whom we in London are fortunate in being able to study as near home as at the Victoria and Albert Museum. ”

“ In 1529 Maestro Buono died, and Jacopo Sansovino was nominated Proto of the Procuratie in his stead. One of Buono's principal assistants was Guglielmo da Alzano, near Bergamo. [286] He sculptured a beautiful altar in the Servite church on the commission of Madonna Verde della Scala. It is now removed to the church of SS. Giovanni e Paolo. The great altar in the church of S. Salvadore is also attributed to him. He was a famous builder as well as sculptor, and was architect of the Camerlinghi Palace, at the foot of the Rialto in Venice. ”

“ Wherefore it may be said that at the present day that magnificent city, in the quantity and quality of her sumptuous and well-conceived edifices, shines resplendent and is in that respect what she is through the ability, industry, and art of Jacopo Sansovino, who therefore deserves the highest praise ”

“ When writing, he sat with his head up, not supporting himself in any manner, as it is usual for men to do. He liked to be handsomely dressed, and was singularly nice in his person. The society of ladies was acceptable to Sansovino, even to the extremity of age, and he always enjoyed conversing with or of them. He had not been particularly healthy in his youth, yet in his old age he suffered from no malady whatever, insomuch that, for a period of fifty years, he would never consult any physician even when he did feel himself indisposed. ”

“ Nor did Tribolo neglect the opportunities for improvement then presented to him; drawing with careful study and working much in clay, he made such manifest progress in that art to which it was obvious he was naturally inclined, that Jacopo Sansovino daily became more and more amicably disposed towards him, encouraging and putting him forward by making him first execute one piece of work and then another ”

“ When Jacopo began to exercise his art he was so powerfully aided by Nature, that although he was not particularly studious, nor very diligent in his work, yet in whatever he did there was a grace and facility, with a certain ease, which was very pleasing to the eyes of the artists, seeing that every draught, sketch, or outline of his, displayed a boldness and animation which it has been given to but few among the sculptors to possess. ”

“ Moved by these reasons, and still receiving advice and aid from Ciappino, Riccio engaged Tribolo to Jacopo Sansovino, who received him willingly, from having known him in the workshop of Nanni, and having there remarked that the youth acquitted himself very well in design and still better in works of relief. ”

“ His disciples were the aforesaid Girolamo Lombardo, the Florentine Simone Cioli, Domenico dal Monte Sansovino (who died soon after him) , [Pg 31] and the Florentine Leonardo del Tasso, who made the S. Sebastian of wood over his own tomb in S. Ambrogio at Florence, and the marble panel of the Nuns of S. Chiara. A disciple of Andrea, likewise, was the Florentine Jacopo Sansovino—so called after his master—of whom there will be a long account in the proper place. ”

“ But more beautiful than all is the Palace of Messer Griorgio Cornaro, on the Grand Canal: it surpasses all the others in majesty, grandeur, and convenience; nay, is reputed to be, perhaps, the most splendid residence in Italy.
Omitting the private buildings constructed by Sansovino, I restrict myself to recording that he also erected the Scuola and Brotherhood of the Misericordia, at the cost of a hundred and thirty thousand ducats: an immense fabric it is, and, when completed, will be the most superb edifice in Italy. ”

“ He sometimes permitted himself to be overcome by anger, which in him was an exceedingly violent passion, but one that soon passed over, and a few gentle words often sufficed to brings tears into his eyes. His love for his art was immense; nay, that the knowledge of sculpture might be the more widely diffused, Sansovino brought up numerous disciples, establishing what might almost be called a Seminary of that art in Italy.
Among those of his disciples who attained the most distinguished name, were the Florentines Niccolò Tribolo and Solosmeo ”

“ Over the door of the same Church is a Madonna in marble, also by Jacopo; it is the size of life, and considered very beautiful. The bronze door of the Sacristy divided into two parts, and adorned with Stories from the Life of Christ, admirably executed, [16] are in like manner by his hand; and over the Gate of the Arsenal he has erected a fine statue of Our Lady in marble, with the Divine Child in her arms. All these works have not only adorned the city, but have daily increased the renown of Sansovino ”

“ He was in like manner invited to Rome by Pope Paul III., who wished him to undertake the care of San Pietro, in place of Antonio da San Gallo, and Monsignore della Casa, then Legate at Venice, did his best to prevail on our artist to consent, but it was all in vain; he declared that he would not exchange his life in a Republic for that under an absolute Prince. King Philip II. of Spain, also, when on his way to Germany, conferred many marks of favour on Sansovino, whom he saw in Peschiera. ”

“ The works here described, caused Sansovino to bv. considered a most excellent and graceful artist by all Florence, and by every one connected with art; wherefore Giovanni Bartolini, having built a house in the Gualfonda, requested him to execute a Bacchus in marble, represented by a youth the size of life; when, the model being made by Sansovino, was found to be entirely satisfactory, and Giovanni having supplied him with the marble, he set to work with a good will, that gave wings both to his thoughts and hands. ”

“ His mother, whom he strongly resembled, perceiving this, and desiring to aid his genius, caused him to be secretly taught drawing, with the intention of making him a sculptor, perhaps in emulation of the rising glory of Michelagnolo Buonarroto, then very young. She may, perhaps, have also thought it a favourable augury that the latter and her son Jacopo were both born in the same street, the Via Santa Maria namely, which is near the Via Ghibellina. ”

“ When all had completed their work, Bramante showed the models to RaSaello Sanzio of Urbino, inquiring of him which he thought the best. It was then judged by Raffaello that Sansovino had greatly surpassed the others; wherefore, by the advice of Domenico, Cardinal Grimani, Bramante was commanded to have the model of Jacopo cast in bronze. The mould was prepared accordingly, and the metal, being cast, succeeded to perfection ”

“ The entire Palace of Priali, a large and rich building at Treville, near Treviso, has also been decorated both within and without by Giuseppe Salviati; but of this palace we shall speak at length in the life of Jacopo Sansovino. At Piere del Sacco likewise, Griuseppe has produced a very beautiful fa9ade, and at Bagnuolo, a place belonging to the Monks of the Santo Spirito at Venice, he has painted a picture in oil ”

“ Having completed this statue, it was adjudged to be the best ever executed by a modern master, Sansovino having overcome a difficulty no longer attempted; one arm of the figure being fully detached and raised in the air, while a Tazza, cut from the same piece of marble, is held aloft in the hand, or rather, so delicate and subtle is the work, by the fingers, whereon it is so lightly poised, that they scarcely appear to touch it. ”

“ Accordingly I girded on my sword, and went to visit Jacopo del Sansovino, the sculptor, who had sent for Tribolo. He received me most kindly, and invited us to dinner, and we stayed with him. In course of conversation with Tribolo, he told him that he had no work to give him at the moment, but that he might call again. Hearing this, I burst out laughing, and said pleasantly to Sansovino: "Your house is too far off from his, if he must call again." Poor Tribolo, all in dismay, exclaimed: "I have got your letter here, which you wrote to bid me come." ”

“ The stucco work, the stories which decorate the Halls, the rich pavements, the staircases adorned with pictures (as has been related in the Life of Battista Franco) , every part, at a word, is most admirable; to say nothing of the rich ornaments which give majesty and grandeur to the principal entrance; and all prove the vast ability of Sansovino. These works caused a notable change in the mode of building at Venice ”

“ Sangallo also constructed many fortresses. After Bramante’s death he worked with Raphael on St. Peter’s.
264 SANSOVINO (JACOPO TATTI)
1487-1570 Sansovino, though a Florentine by birth, worked principally in Venice. He was equally distinguished as sculptor and architect. In the latter capacity he built in Venice the Zecca or Mint, the Loggietta, the Palazzo Cornaro, the Palazzo Corner della Cá Grande, the Scala d’Oro in the Doge’s palace, the churches of San Martino and San Fantino, and his masterpiece, the Library of San Marco. In Rome the Palazzo Gaddi (now Nicolini) was built by him. ”

“ His Holiness having afterwards resolved that the fa9ade of San Lorenzo should be constructed in marble, Sansovino, while Raffaello and Michelagnolo were expected from Rome, prepared a design for the same by order of the Pope, who, being pleased therewith, caused Baccio d’Agnolo to make from it a model in wood, which was most beautiful ”

“ In all his work he subordinated sculpture to architecture, and his statuary is conceived in the bravura, manner of Renaissance paganism. Whatever may be the faults of Sansovino in both arts, it cannot be denied that he expressed, in a style peculiar to himself, the large voluptuous external life of Venice at a moment when this city was the Paris or the Corinth of Renaissance Europe. At the same time, the shallowness of Sansovino's inspiration as a sculptor is patent in his masterpieces of parade—the "Neptune" and the "Mars," guarding the Scala d'Oro. ”

“ All which works not only have given lustre and adornment to that Republic, but also have caused Sansovino to become daily more known as a most excellent craftsman, and to be loved by those Signori and honoured by their magnificent liberality, and likewise by the other craftsmen; for every work of sculpture and architecture that has been executed in that city in his time has been referred to him. ”

“ Both the Bacchus and the Satyriscus at his side are triumphs of realism, irradiated and idealised by the sculptor's vivid sense of natural gladness. Considered as a restitution of the antique manner, this statue is decidedly superior to the "Bacchus" of Michael Angelo. While the mundane splendour of Venice gave body and fulness to Sansovino's paganism, he missed the self-restraint and purity of taste peculiar to the studious shades of Florence. In his style, both architectural and sculptural, the neo-pagan sensuality of Italy expanded all its bloom. ”

“ Sansovino’s friends soon triumphed, for they were many and powerful. I do not know whether a vaulted ceiling only just constructed can suddenly collapse and fall in of itself without some fault on the part of the{143} architect, but Sansovino was unanimously declared to be entirely innocent, and the unlucky magistrate who, with some show of reason, had ordered his arrest was thrown into prison in his place. ”

“ He was consigned by the conquerors to the superiors of his order, and died in the dungeons of a convent at Vercelli. In his case, the sanctity of an austere life, and the eloquence of an authoritative preacher of repentance, had been strictly subordinated to political aims in the interests of republican liberty. Fra Jacopo deserves to rank with Savonarola: like Savonarola, he fell a victim to the selfish and immoral oppressors of his country. As in the case of Savonarola, we can trace the connection which subsisted in Italy between a high standard of morality and patriotic heroism. ”

“ Sansovino’s greatest work in Venice was the library of St Mark’s, which was commenced in 1531; in this he has shown not only remarkable powers of design but great boldness in the projection of his columns, cornices and other architectural features. The upper frieze has been increased in height, so as to admit of the introduction of small windows to light an upper storey, and this gives much greater importance and dignity to the entablature crowning the whole structure. ”