Antonio Rizzo

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Antonio Rizzo (* around 1430 in Claino con Osteno ; † after 1499 in Foligno?) Was an Italian sculptor and architect of the early Renaissance .

Life

Rizzo's father was the stonemason and marble dealer Giovanni Rizzo , who came from Milan or Osteno . Already around 1464 he was praised as a sculptor by the Venetian Gregorio Cornaro. In 1465 he is mentioned as a sculptor at the Carthusian monastery of Pavia , where he worked on the processing of columns and capitals. Between 1465 and 1469 he designed three altars for San Marco on behalf of Doge Cristoforo Moro , in which he broke away from the traditional Gothic architecture of Venice and instead sought a design all'antica that corresponded to contemporary tastes. In 1474 and from 1478 to 1479 he took part in the defense of Scutari against the Turks. In 1474 he built a spiral staircase and a marble pulpit for the Scuola Grande di San Marco based on designs by Gentile Bellini , which, like various tombs from this period, have been completely destroyed or only preserved in fragments. Between 1476 and 1480 he built the monumental tomb for the Doge Niccolò Tron in the choir of the Frari Church .

Scala dei giganti in the inner courtyard of the Doge's Palace , Carlo Naya

In 1484 he was appointed protomagister , that is, the architect responsible for the Doge's construction work. In this role, he was no longer allowed to accept private assignments according to the contract. Nevertheless, he continued to erect tombs for private clients. Rizzo directed the reconstruction of the Doge's Palace, which was destroyed by fire in 1483 . In 1485, under his direction, the Scala dei Giganti was built in the courtyard of the palace, which is decorated with a series of bas-reliefs by his hand. The spectacle of the Doge's inauguration was staged on this monumental staircase.

In 1499 he was replaced as proto by Pietro Lombardo after he hastily left Venice, presumably because of embezzlement of funds for the construction of the Doge's Palace. In 1499 he stayed in Ancona , Cesena and Foligno . From May 4, 1499 his track is lost; the date and place of death are not known.

plant

Even among his contemporaries, Rizzo was considered the greatest Venetian sculptor of his century. The two larger-than-life nude figures of Adam and Eve , which were placed in two niches on the east facade of the Arco foscari in the Doge's Palace, are exemplary of his new conception of the human figure . They are unique for their time, were already very famous during his lifetime and were honored by Giorgio Vasari . Both are influenced less by a study of antiquity than by a thorough view of nature. Although they were intended for installation in niches, they are almost completely formed free figures.

Doge Niccolò Tron in the Frari Church

Rizzo's main work is the tomb of Doge Niccolò Tron in the Frari Church in Venice, for which he was commissioned in 1473. The monument was perhaps created in competition with the tomb of Doge Pietro Mocenigo , which Pietro Lombardo built in San Zanipolo at the same time. All details of the monument, such as the shape of the pilasters , the arcades , friezes and consoles are executed in the formal language of the Renaissance, but the tomb itself with its additive structure of floors and the multitude of niches equipped with figures, reminiscent of Venetian altars, is not , like Pietro Lombardo's doge tomb, is subject to a consistent structural structure based on antiquity. In the center of the lower floor is the figure of the Doge, who is accompanied by two allegorical figures. The figure of the Doge, with its statuesque calm and terse simplicity, contrasts with the graceful accompanying figures, whose thin robes emphasize their mobility and liveliness.

Works

  • Altar of St. Paul, Altar of St. Clement, Altar of St. James, 1464–1469, San Marco in Venice
  • Tomb for the Doge Niccolò Tron, 1476–1480, Frari Church , Venice
  • Adam, Eve; Sculptures, undated, Doge's Palace . Venice

literature

  • Giuseppe Fiocco: Antonio Rizzo in treccani.it
  • AA.VV .: Arte e artisti dei laghi lombardi. Noseda, Como 1959.
  • Alessandro Giobbi: Testimonianze di storia e cronaca del Comune di Claino con Osteno. Provincia di Como. Diocesi di Milano, Osteno 1971.
  • Anne Markham Schulz: Antonio Rizzo. Sculptor and Architect. Princeton 1983.

Web links

Commons : Antonio Rizzo  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ A. Giobbi: Testimonianze 1971, pp. 90-104
personal data
SURNAME Rizzo, Antonio
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian sculptor
DATE OF BIRTH around 1430
PLACE OF BIRTH Claino con Osteno
DATE OF DEATH after 1499
Place of death unsure: Foligno