LEONI, LEONE - Medal with the portrait of Michelangelo at 88; on the reverse, an allegorical figure alluding to the Faith, devised by Michelangelo himself - Florence, Medagliere medico, Bargello.
LEONI, LEONE. - Sculptor, medallist and architect, b. at Menaggio (Como), to a father from Arezzo, in 1509 and d. at Milan in 1590. He worked mainly in Milan and in Spain, at the court of Philip II, displaying eminent gifts as a modeller and bronze-caster on the examples of Michelangelo and Sansovino.
He is remembered above all for the solemn tomb of Gian Giacomo Medici, in the cathedral of Milan, that of Ferrante Gonzaga, at Guastalla, the statue of Vespasiano Gonzaga, in the Incoronata at Sabbioneta (Mantua), and statues and busts of Charles V and Philip II, at the Prado and in the Escorial at Madrid. His rare gifts of incisive and dignified realism enabled him to figure among the best medallists of the period, with some sixty pieces (notable are the effigies of Charles V, Philip II, Mary of Hungary, Michelangelo). And also in the field of civil architecture he left a significant mark with the design of his own Milanese house, called the Omenoni, for the gigantic caryatids that adorn its façade, a typical pre-baroque motif.
A faithful and worthy collaborator of L. L. proved to be his son POMPEO (b. around 1533 and d. at Madrid on 13 Oct. 1608). Protected by Philip II of Spain, he completed in the Escorial the great altar, begun by his father, also executing there the tombs of Charles V and Philip II and that of the dukes of Lerma at Valladolid. He further continued his father's manner in the art of the medal.
Bibliography4 worksC. Casati, L. L. d'Arezzo e G. P. Lomazzo ecc., Milan 1884; E. Plon, L. L. sculpteur de Charles V et P. Leoni sculpteur de Philippe II, Pari
BIBL.: C. Casati, L. L. d'Arezzo e G. P. Lomazzo ecc., Milan 1884; E. Plon, L. L. sculpteur de Charles V et P. Leoni sculpteur de Philippe II, Paris 1887; A. Brusconi, La casa di L. L., Milan 1913; F. Schottmüller-G. F. Hill, s. v. in Thieme-Becker, XXIII, p. 84 ff.
Neppi, Alberto. “Leoni, leone.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VII, col. 1165. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1951. https://azioneromana.com/article/leoni-leone.
MLA
Neppi, Alberto. “Leoni, leone.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VII, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1951, col. 1165. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/leoni-leone.
BibTeX
@incollection{ec7_leoni_leone,
author = {Neppi, Alberto},
title = {Leoni, leone},
booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
volume = {VII},
pages = {1165},
note = {Cited by column},
publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
address = {Città del Vaticano},
year = {1951},
url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/leoni-leone}
}
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