Ippolito del Donzello and his brother Piero

Pietro del Donzello

Pietro del Donzello was an Italian artist and painter.Donzello was born in Florence. His brother Ippolito was also a painter. Pietro primarily painted traditional scenes and shields. Some of his other works reside at the Cleveland Museum of Art....

 were the sons by different mothers of Francesco d'Antonio di Jacopo, bailiff

Bailiff

A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...

 ('donzello') of the Signoria of Florence

Signoria of Florence

The Signoria was the government of medieval and renaissance Florence. Its nine members, the Priori, were chosen from the ranks of the guilds of the city: six of them from the major guilds, and two from the minor guilds...

, and were both born in that city — Piero in 1451, and Ippolito in 1455. Ippolito was the pupil of Neri di Bicci

Neri di Bicci

Neri di Bicci was an Italian painter of the Renaissance. A prolific painter of mainly religious themes, he was active mainly in Florence and in the medium of tempera. His father was Bicci di Lorenzo. His grandfather, Lorenzo di Bicci was also a painter in Florence, a pupil of Spinello...

 from 1469 to 1471, and the brothers were companions in the 'Studio' at Florence up to 1480. In 1481, or soon after, they went to Naples to decorate the palace of Poggio Reale, which was then being built for Alfonso I

Alfonso V of Aragon

Alfonso the Magnanimous KG was the King of Aragon , Valencia , Majorca, Sardinia and Corsica , and Sicily and Count of Barcelona from 1416 and King of Naples from 1442 until his death...

, from the designs of Giuliano da Majano

Giuliano da Maiano

Giuliano da Maiano was an Italian architect, intarsia-worker and sculptor, the elder brother of Benedetto da Maiano, with whom he often collaborated.- Biography :...

, and it is not unlikely that Ippolito died in that city, but the death of Ippolito is not registered. Ippolito and Pietro both assisted Antonio Solario

Antonio Solario

Antonio Solario , also known as Lo Zingaro , Antonio de/da Solario etc, was an Italian painter of the Venetian school, who worked in Naples, the Marche and possibly England...

, called II Zingaro, in the frescoes in the cloisters of the monastery of San Severino at Naples, and in the Museum of that city may be seen two 'Crucifixions,' a 'Virgin and Child with Saints,' and other paintings assigned to them.