User:Allied.8877/Andrea Riccio

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Andrea Riccio

Andrea "Riccio" Briosco (c. 1470 – 1532) was an Italian sculptor and occasional architect, most well-known by his sobriquet meaning "curly;" he is also known as Il Riccio and Andrea Crispus ("curly" in Latin). He is recognized for small bronzes, often practical objects such as inkwells, door knockers or fire-dogs, which were typically extravagantly designed, as well as narrative reliefs and figurative statuettes.

Early Life

He was born in Trent in 1470, where he was initially trained as a goldsmith by his father, Ambrogio di Cristoforo Briosco. In 1492, his father moved his family's workshop to Padua, which is where Riccio began studying bronze casting under Bartolomeo Bellano, a pupil of Donatello.

Career and Work

Now renowned as one of the greatest bronze sculptors of the Renaissance era, Riccio often drew on classical, Christian, and Egyptian imagery in his design and appealed to the elite scholars of Padua. He was versatile in his casting methods. He used not only the traditional direct-casting method to create single bronze casts from one wax model but also an indirect-casting method, whereby he was able to create multiple casts from a single model. Many of his works reflect this second indirect-casting method and are thought to be his way of appeasing the desires of multiple patrons.

Saint Martin and the Beggar (1513-1520), an example of Riccio's bronze relief work from the sister altar of the Altar of the True Cross, from the Frick Collection Exhibition

As an architect, he is known for the church of Santa Giustina in Padua.

Basilica of Sant'Antonio

His most well-known works include two bronze reliefs, David and Judith and Holofernes (1507), and the bronze Paschal Candelabrum (1516), both completed for the choir in the Basilica of Sant'Antonio. The bronze reliefs were a continuation and completion of Bellano's Old Testament series featured in the church. The Candelabrum, a 3.92-meter tall piece, was designed as a tribute to Easter and showcases imagery from not only Christian stories but also from Roman, Greek, and Egyptian allegories.

The Tomb of Girolamo della Torre

He also worked on the tomb of the physician Girolamo della Torre and his son in the church of San Fermo at Verona from 1516 to 1521. Continuing to draw on classical imagery, Riccio crafted eight bronze reliefs for the tomb, illustrating the life, career, death, and immortality of the physician. These reliefs are now held in the Louvre.

Altar of the True Cross

Around 1500, Riccio was commissioned by Girolamo Donato to create five bronze reliefs for the Santa Maria dei Servi, the head monastery of the Servite order in Venice. These five bronzes adorned an altar showcasing a relic of the True Cross. The Altar of the True Cross is thought to be one of Riccio's first major public works and depicts scenes from the story of the Holy Cross from Jacobus de Voragine's Golden Legend.

The reliefs now live in the Ca' d'Oro museum in Venice.

Museum Exhibitions and Private Collections

Frick Collection

From mid-October 2008 to mid-January 2009, the Frick Collection held an exhibition of Riccio's work, featuring over 30 of his bronze autograph sculptures, two terracottas, and a selection of other sculptures from his workshop. The exhibition showcased pieces originally held by the Louvre, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, among many others.

The Rothschild Lamp (c.1510-1520)

All pieces were returned to their home museums and collections at the conclusion of the exhibition. The Oil Lamp (c.1516-1524), also known as the Morgan Lamp, as well as six other works attributed to his workshop remain at the Frick.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is home to six pieces attributed to Riccio and his workshop. The collection consists of four of his practical bronze objects, a relief titled The Sacrifice of a Swine, and a gilt bronze medal. One of the practical objects, a bronze lamp made by Riccio himself, was once a longtime possession of the Rothschild family but was gifted to the MET in 2009.