Andrea Verrocchio

Andrea del Verrocchio (c. 1435--1488), born Andrea di Michele di Francesco de' Cioni, was an Italian sculptor, goldsmith and painter who worked at the court of Lorenzo de' Medici in Florence. His pupils included Leonardo da Vinci, Pietro Perugino and Lorenzo di Credi, but he also influenced Michelangelo. He worked in the serenely classic style of the Florentine Early Renaissance. Verrocchio was born in Florence in 1435 to Michele di Francesco Cioni, who worked as a tile and brick maker and, later, as a tax collector. Michele never married, and had to provide financial support for some members of his family. Michele's fame rose upon his joining the Medici court, in which he remained until his workshop moved to Venice. Many believe that Andrea started to work as a goldsmith in the workshop of Giulio Verrocchi, but this is impossible as Giuliano was born in 1447. It is more likely that he was trained by Giuliano's father Francesco di Luca Verrocchio, who was a rich and successful goldsmith and knew Andrea as a youth. The possibility that he apprenticed with Donatello remains unconfirmed. His first efforts in painting date probably from the 1460s, when he worked in Prato alongside Filippo Lippi. The only signed painting by Verrocchio is the Madonna with Child and Saints, in the Cathedral of Pistoia. Around 1465 he worked at the lavabo of the Old Sacristy in San Lorenzo, Florence. Between 1465 and 1467 he executed the funerary monument to Cosimo de' Medici for the crypt under ...

Andrea del Verrocchio (c. 1435--1488), born Andrea di Michele di Francesco de' Cioni, was an Italian sculptor, goldsmith and painter who worked at the court of Lorenzo de' Medici in Florence. His pupils included Leonardo da Vinci, Pietro Perugino and Lorenzo di Credi, but he also influenced Michelangelo. He worked in the serenely classic style of the Florentine Early Renaissance. Verrocchio was born in Florence in 1435 to Michele di Francesco Cioni, who worked as a tile and brick maker and, later, as a tax collector. Michele never married, and had to provide financial support for some members of his family. Michele's fame rose upon his joining the Medici court, in which he remained until his workshop moved to Venice. Many believe that Andrea started to work as a goldsmith in the workshop of Giulio Verrocchi, but this is impossible as Giuliano was born in 1447. It is more likely that he was trained by Giuliano's father Francesco di Luca Verrocchio, who was a rich and successful goldsmith and knew Andrea as a youth. The possibility that he apprenticed with Donatello remains unconfirmed. His first efforts in painting date probably from the 1460s, when he worked in Prato alongside Filippo Lippi. The only signed painting by Verrocchio is the Madonna with Child and Saints, in the Cathedral of Pistoia. Around 1465 he worked at the lavabo of the Old Sacristy in San Lorenzo, Florence. Between 1465 and 1467 he executed the funerary monument to Cosimo de' Medici for the crypt under ...