DANTI, VINCENZO. - Sculptor and art theorist, b. in Perugia in 1530, d. there on 26 May 1576. A follower, though not a direct pupil, of Michelangelo, he belonged to a family of Perugian artists and scientists, among whom was his brother Egnazio, the celebrated mathematician. The bronze statue of the pope dates back to 1555

Julius III (Perugia, exterior of the Cathedral) dates to 1555, significant for the painterly modeling of the face, but heavy in the overall Mannerist structure.

In Florence (from 1557) he worked for Cosimo I. In 1567 he published book I of the Trattato delle perfette proporzioni (it was to consist of 15 books), in which he sets forth original ideas, such as the one that places disorder (as the mainspring of a development) at the foundation of proportion understood as harmony of parts. Among the sculptures to be remembered are: L'Onore che vince l'Inganno (ca. 1561; Florence, Bargello), of evident Michelangelesque inspiration; two bas-reliefs of complex painterly value for their dents and projections of sculptural planes; the Serpente di bronzo and the Sportello di armadiolo, both in the Bargello. His masterpiece is said to be the group of the Decollazione del Battista on the exterior of the Florentine Baptistery.

Bibliography3 works

BIBL.: W. Bombe and O. Pollak, s. v. in Thieme-Becker, VIII, pp. 381-82 and 384-87; Venturi, X, II, p. 506 ff.; J. von Schlosser, La letteratura artistica, Florence 1935, p. 336.

Luigi Grassi

@incollection{ec4_danti_vincenzo, author = {Grassi, Luigi}, title = {Danti, vincenzo}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {IV}, pages = {1212}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1950}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/danti-vincenzo} }

One of some 20,000 entries brought back from the twelve printed volumes (1948–54). Spotted something? Help us improve it.

Danti, Vincenzo

About this entry