Bertoldo di Giovanni, sculptor of the Medici household

The Florentine Bertoldo di Giovanni (d. 1491) is a pivotal figure in the history of the early Renaissance. He was a member of the Medici household, the disciple of Donatello, and a mentor of Michelangelo. To Lorenzo de' Medici, he was part servant, part companion, as well as artist and adviser. Bertoldo was a pioneer in the creation of bronze statuettes, producing seven of the most appealing, lyrial works in the genre. In addition, he crafted reliefs that range from. Small medals to a monumental palace frieze, all of which present an indelibly Tuscan brand of rustic classicism. Beginning with a survey of Bertoldo's career, James David Draper sheds new light on Medici patronage and on the efforts of Renaissance artists to formulate the period's humanist values in visual terms. He examines in depth the nature of the informally organized "academy" of young artists, including Michelangelo, who are believed to have gathered under. Bertoldo's tutelage. He considers Bertoldo in relation to the art of classical antiquity and to that of his contemporaries: Masolino and Masaccio, Fra Filippo Lippi and Uccello, Castagno and Pollaiuolo, and, above all, Botticelli. In doing so, he touches upon virtually all known early Renaissance statuettes. Draper also offers a detailed, richly illustrated catalogue raisonne of Bertoldo's works, including some not previously recognized as by the sculptor, as well as an. Account of rejected attributions. For the first time, all known documents concerning Bertoldo's life are assembled in an appendix. With more than two hundred illustrations of works by Bertoldo and his peers, this book will prove invaluable to all students of Italian Renaissance art, ideas, and patronage.