SOLARI (SOLARIO), CRISTOFORO called IL GOBBO. — Milanese sculptor and architect, born around 1460, died, according to some, at Vigevano in 1525, according to others at Mantua in 1527.
After a stay in Venice (1489), he was active in Milan, above all at the Opera del Duomo, undertaking duties as sculptor, founder, architect, and engineer. In 1514 he was in Rome. His activity as a sculptor—following the loss of the group of Hercules and Cacus—is attested by, in the Charterhouse of Pavia, the funerary monument of Ludovico il Moro and Isabella d’Este (1499), and, in Milan Cathedral, the statues of Adam, Eve, and Christ at the Column, which is signed. Proceeding from the rough and compact plasticity of the Sforza monument, the style of C. S. evolved toward explorations of classical balance, grace, and feeling, influenced both by the experience of his brief journey to Rome and by the tendency of the
Attributed works: Bust of the Redeemer (Pavia, Museo Malaspina); Pietà (certosa di Pavia); Madonna (certosa di Pavia); another Madonna (Detroit, Institute of Arts).
According to some, his activity as an architect includes the church of S. Maria della Passione in Milan, with its spacious Bramantesque polygonal tiburium, and the apse of Como Cathedral, inspired by drawings by Leonardo, whose execution was entrusted to Tommaso Rodari.
