Antonio Pollaiuolo | Dissecting Corpses for
Art
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Hercules and
Anteus Antonio Pollaiuolo, c. 1470s Bronze, height: 45 cm
Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence |
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Patronized by the Medici
family, the workshop owned by the brothers Antonio and Piero
Pollaiuolo was a thriving business in Florence during the
Early Italian
Renaissance. The Pollaiuolo brothers executed bronze and
gold sculpture, paintings, and other decorative art. Intensely
interested in the movement of the human body, Antonio Pollaiuolo
is thought to have dissected corpses to improve his
understanding of human anatomy.
Antonio was the more talented of the two
Pollaiuolo brothers.
Scholars disagree as to which Pollaiuolo brother did what work,
but it is generally assumed that Antonio Pollaiuolo was the more
talented of the two brothers. The sculpture of Hercules and
Anteus showcases Pollaiuolo's ability to depict the human form
in an emotional and physical way. Both Leonardo and Michelangelo were
influenced by this work.
His most significant works are the bronze papal tombs of Sixtus
IV (1493) and Innocent VIII (1498).
Brenda Harness, Art Historian
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