Pollaiuolo, Piero

POLLAIOLO, PIERO – Coronation of the Virgin (1483). S. Gimignano, Collegiana.

The artist’s first stay in Rome dates to 1469. The impression left by his residence in Rome can be observed in the landscape, as well as in the plastic maturity expressed by the Martyrdom of St Sebastian (1475; London, National Gallery). In addition to his oath as « aurifex aurario », other documents concerning P.’s position and activity as a goldsmith range from 1472 to 1480. These were the years of his relations with Pope Sixtus IV; of his collaboration (1478) on the Silver Altar; and of the execution of the paliotto of Assisi—by which time the artist’s reputation was already high. This is confirmed by the presence (1474) of a cartoon « cum quibusdam nudis Poleyoli » in the studio of Francesco Squarcione. Regarding P.’s architectural activity, it is important to note that he sent a design (1491) for the façade of S. Maria del Fiore. The bronze monument

to Pope Sixtus IV in S. Pietro was completed in 1492; and, in collaboration with his brother, he executed the one for Innocent VIII, completed in 1498. He was unable, however, to realize the equestrian monument to Francesco Sforza, of which two drawings remain, one in Munich and the other in New York. The attribution to A. d. P. of the two putti on the Capitoline Wolf is uncertain.

Both the goldsmith’s works and the sculptures and paintings by P. display unity of purpose and meaning, in the energetic rhythm of the plastic and dynamic line: St Mary of Egypt in the parish church of Staggia; the admirable Female Portraits in profile, one in Berlin (State Museum) and the other in the Poldi Pezzoli Museum in Milan; Tobias and the Archangel Raphael (Turin, Pinacoteca). In this work, the collaboration of his brother Piero can still be ruled out. The pictorial level remains high, for example, in the SS. Vincent, James and Eustace (Florence, Uffizi). Another fresco, in poor condition and characteristic for its sense of movement, is the frieze with the Dance of the Nudes in the Villa Gallina at Arcetri (Florence), which can be attributed solely to Antonio. It is

POLLAIOLO, ANTONIO — Astrology. Detail of the monument to Sixtus IV. Vatican Grottoes.