Lorenzetto
Encyclopedia
Lorenzo Lotti, also known as Lorenzetto, (1490 – 1541), born Lorenzo di Lodovico di Guglielmo, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect in the circle of Raphael
.
He was born in Florence
and married the sister of Giulio Romano
, another painter, sculptor and pupil of Raphael. He is profiled in Vasari's Le Vite delle più eccellenti pittori, scultori, ed architettori (or, in English, Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects).
According to Vasari, as a young sculptor Lorenzetto completed the tomb of Cardinal Niccolò Forteguerri, begun by Andrea Verrocchio in 1477, in San Jacopo at Pistoia. Then in Rome, he made "many works" of which, according to Vasari, "there is no need to make any further record."
At the urging of Raphael, Lorenzetto received a commission from Agostino Chigi
to create his tomb in Santa Maria del Popolo
, where Agostino had built a chapel (Chigi Chapel
). According to Vasari, Lorenzetto worked very hard on the project, both to impress Chigi and reflect well on Raphael. With assistance of the young sculptor Raffaello da Montelupo
, and using designs by Raphael (according to Vasari), Lorenzetto created a statue of Elijah, and a nude Jonah
delivered from the belly of the whale as a symbol of the resurrection from the dead. Lorenzetto was also assigned by Raphael to execute bronze reliefs for Agostino's tomb. The relief of Christ and the Women of Samaria was moved to the base of the altar by Bernini during later work on the Chapel.
According to Vasari, the almost simultaneous death of Chigi and Raphael (both within four days of the other in 1520) heralded a decline in Lorenzetto's fortunes. Chigi's heirs left Lorenzetto's statues for the Chigi Chapel sit in Lorenzetto's workshop "for many years" and Lorenzetto "robbed for those reasons of all hope, found for the present that he had thrown away his time and labor."
Lorenzetto did, however, find work creating a statue for Raphael's tomb in the Pantheon
, assisted by Raffaello da Montelupo
. Called the Madonna del Sasso (Madonna of the Rock), it is so named because Mary rests one foot on a boulder.
In 1524, Lorenzetto completed the tomb of poet Bernardino Cappella in Santo Stefano Rotondo
(again with Raffaello da Montelupo
).
By the time he worked on the tombs of the Medici popes (Clement VII and Leo X) in Santa Maria sopra Minerva
(c. 1536) he apparently contented himself with a subordinate role, the primary statuary having been entrusted to Baccio Bandinelli.
as an architect and surveyor for the never-ending work on St. Peter's under Pope Paul III
. According to Vasari, this proved to be the most lucrative engagement of Lorenzetto's career because:
Lorenzetto died in Rome
in 1541 at age forty-seven.
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
.
He was born in 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....
and married the sister of Giulio Romano
Giulio Romano
Giulio Romano was an Italian painter and architect. A pupil of Raphael, his stylistic deviations from high Renaissance classicism help define the 16th-century style known as Mannerism...
, another painter, sculptor and pupil of Raphael. He is profiled in Vasari's Le Vite delle più eccellenti pittori, scultori, ed architettori (or, in English, Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects).
Sculptural works
At the urging of Raphael, Lorenzetto received a commission from Agostino Chigi
Agostino Chigi
Agostino Andrea Chigi was an Italian banker and patron of the Renaissance.Born in Siena, he was the son of the prominent banker Mariano Chigi, a member of an ancient and illustrious house. He moved to Rome around 1487, collaborating with his father...
to create his tomb in Santa Maria del Popolo
Santa Maria del Popolo
Santa Maria del Popolo is an Augustinian church located in Rome, Italy.It stands to the north side of the Piazza del Popolo, one of the most famous squares in the city. The Piazza is situated between the ancient Porta Flaminia and the park of the Pincio...
, where Agostino had built a chapel (Chigi Chapel
Chigi Chapel
The Chigi Chapel is one of six chapels in the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, Piazza del Popolo, Rome. The Chigi chapel, the second on the left-hand side of the nave, was designed by Raphael as a private chapel for his friend and patron Sienese banker Agostino Chigi, then completed by Gian...
). According to Vasari, Lorenzetto worked very hard on the project, both to impress Chigi and reflect well on Raphael. With assistance of the young sculptor Raffaello da Montelupo
Raffaello da Montelupo
Raffaello da Montelupo , born Raffaele Sinibaldi, was a sculptor and architect of the Italian Renaissance, and an apprentice of Michelangelo. He was the son of another Italian sculptor, Baccio da Montelupo...
, and using designs by Raphael (according to Vasari), Lorenzetto created a statue of Elijah, and a nude Jonah
Jonah
Jonah is the name given in the Hebrew Bible to a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th century BC, the eponymous central character in the Book of Jonah, famous for being swallowed by a fish or a whale, depending on translation...
delivered from the belly of the whale as a symbol of the resurrection from the dead. Lorenzetto was also assigned by Raphael to execute bronze reliefs for Agostino's tomb. The relief of Christ and the Women of Samaria was moved to the base of the altar by Bernini during later work on the Chapel.
According to Vasari, the almost simultaneous death of Chigi and Raphael (both within four days of the other in 1520) heralded a decline in Lorenzetto's fortunes. Chigi's heirs left Lorenzetto's statues for the Chigi Chapel sit in Lorenzetto's workshop "for many years" and Lorenzetto "robbed for those reasons of all hope, found for the present that he had thrown away his time and labor."
Lorenzetto did, however, find work creating a statue for Raphael's tomb in the Pantheon
Pantheon, Rome
The Pantheon ,Rarely Pantheum. This appears in Pliny's Natural History in describing this edifice: Agrippae Pantheum decoravit Diogenes Atheniensis; in columnis templi eius Caryatides probantur inter pauca operum, sicut in fastigio posita signa, sed propter altitudinem loci minus celebrata.from ,...
, assisted by Raffaello da Montelupo
Raffaello da Montelupo
Raffaello da Montelupo , born Raffaele Sinibaldi, was a sculptor and architect of the Italian Renaissance, and an apprentice of Michelangelo. He was the son of another Italian sculptor, Baccio da Montelupo...
. Called the Madonna del Sasso (Madonna of the Rock), it is so named because Mary rests one foot on a boulder.
In 1524, Lorenzetto completed the tomb of poet Bernardino Cappella in Santo Stefano Rotondo
Santo Stefano Rotondo
The Basilica of St. Stephen in the Round on the Celian Hill is an ancient basilica and titular church in Rome, Italy. Commonly named Santo Stefano Rotondo, the church is the National church in Rome of Hungary dedicated to Saint Stephen and Saint Stephen of Hungary...
(again with Raffaello da Montelupo
Raffaello da Montelupo
Raffaello da Montelupo , born Raffaele Sinibaldi, was a sculptor and architect of the Italian Renaissance, and an apprentice of Michelangelo. He was the son of another Italian sculptor, Baccio da Montelupo...
).
By the time he worked on the tombs of the Medici popes (Clement VII and Leo X) in Santa Maria sopra Minerva
Santa Maria sopra Minerva
The Basilica of Saint Mary Above Minerva is a titular minor basilica and one of the most important churches of the Roman Catholic Dominican order in Rome, Italy. The church, located in the Piazza della Minerva in the Campus Martius region, is considered the only Gothic church in Rome. It houses...
(c. 1536) he apparently contented himself with a subordinate role, the primary statuary having been entrusted to Baccio Bandinelli.
Work on St. Peter's
In his later years, Lorenzetto also assisted Antonio da Sangallo the YoungerAntonio da Sangallo the Younger
thumb|250px|The church of Santa Maria di Loreto near the [[Trajan's Market]] in [[Rome]], considered Sangallo's masterwork.thumb|250px|View of St. Patrick's Well in [[Orvieto]]....
as an architect and surveyor for the never-ending work on St. Peter's under Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation...
. According to Vasari, this proved to be the most lucrative engagement of Lorenzetto's career because:
the walls were being built at a fixed price of so much for every four braccia. Thereupon Lorenzo, without exerting himself, in a few years became more famous and prosperous than he had been after many years of endless labor, through having found God, mankind, and Fortune all propitious at that one moment. And if he had lived longer, he would have done even more towards wiping out those injuries that a cruel fate had unjustly brought upon him during his best period of work.
Lorenzetto died in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1541 at age forty-seven.