Verrocchio - Andrea del Verrocchio

Italian metalworker, sculptor, and painter. His father, Michele di Francesco Cioni, was a brick maker in Florence. He probably inherited his surname from his master, the metalworker Giuliano del Verrocchio. He is said to have studied sculpture under Donatello and painting under Baldobinetti, and in recent years has been suggested to have had a relationship with a contemporary marble artist, but his early activities are uncertain. From the late 1460s, he was under the patronage of the Medici family, and he ran a large workshop and played a leading role in the Florentine art world. His works include two tombstones related to the Medici family in the Basilica of San Lorenzo, the bronze "Child with a Dolphin" (now Palazzo Vecchio) for the fountain of the Villa Careggi, a relief of part of the silver altar in the Baptistery of Florence Cathedral, and the Fortegueri monument in Pistoia Cathedral.

He developed advanced techniques using a variety of materials, including bronze, marble, and terracotta, and added dignity to his vivid, realistic style, while adding decorative craftsmanship. Compared to Donatello's earlier works, the bronze statue "David" (Bargello Museum), made around 1476, represents Verrocchio's unique artistic individuality, which shows his intellectual descriptive ability, refined use of light and dark, and keen, aristocratic sensibility. In addition, the bronze group "Christ and the Unbelieving St. Thomas," installed in a niche on the exterior wall of the Orsanmichele Basilica in 1483, is a masterpiece that achieves a dynamic composition and harmonious proportionality by depicting two figures with solemn expressions and graceful postures, and by adding a rotation to the facing of the two figures. In his later years, he created the prototype for the large-scale work "Equestrian Statue of General Colleoni" at the request of the Venetian government. After his death, the casting and completion of the pedestal were entrusted to Alessandro Leopardi (?-1522/23), and the powerful and heroic expression of the horse and man, which was made possible by the fruits of scientific research in his workshop and his anatomical knowledge, has made this a monumental example of the solid naturalism of the time. His painting activities were limited compared to sculpture, however, with works such as "The Baptism of Christ" (Uffizi Gallery), but he produced many talented pupils, including Leonardo da Vinci, who collaborated on this painting and became famous, as well as Perugino and Lorenzo di Credi (1459-1537).

[Kamihira Mitsugu]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

イタリアの金工家、彫刻家、画家。父ミケーレ・ディ・フランチェスコ・チオーニはフィレンツェの煉瓦(れんが)製造業者。姓はおそらく師の金工家ジュリアーノ・デル・ベロッキオから受け継ぐ。かつてドナテッロから彫刻を学び、バルドビネッティから絵画を習ったとされ、近年では同時代の大理石作家との関係が説かれるが、初期の活動については確かでない。1460年代の後半からメディチ家の庇護(ひご)も受け、大規模な工房を営んでフィレンツェ美術界に指導的役割を演じた。サン・ロレンツォ聖堂にメディチ家ゆかりの2基の墓碑、別荘ビラ・カレッジの噴水として青銅の『イルカを抱く小童像』（現在パラッツォ・ベッキオ）、フィレンツェ大聖堂洗礼堂の銀製祭壇の一部浮彫り、ピストイア大聖堂内のフォルテグエリ記念像の制作などがある。

　彼はブロンズ、大理石、テラコッタなど、各種の材料を用いて高度な技法を開発し、生動感豊かな写実的作風に品位を与え、工芸的な装飾性を加味した。1476年ごろの青銅像『ダビデ』（バルジェッロ美術館）はドナテッロの先行する作品と比較して、知性的な描写力と洗練された明暗処理、鋭敏で貴族的な感受力を示すベロッキオ独自の芸術的個性を代弁している。また83年にオルサンミケーレ聖堂外壁の龕(がん)に設置された青銅群像『キリストと不信の聖トマス』は、2人の人物にそれぞれ荘重な表情や優雅な姿態を表現し、両者の対面に旋回を加えた動的な構成と調和のとれた比例関係を達成した傑作。晩年、ベネチア政府の依頼で大作『コレオーニ将軍騎馬像』の原型を制作した。彼の客死で鋳造と台座の完成はレオパルディAlessandro Leopardi（？―1522／23）に託されたが、工房での科学的探究の成果や解剖学的知識を駆使した人馬の力感あふれる勇壮な運動表現によって、当代の堅実な自然主義を代表する記念碑となっている。一方、絵画活動は『キリストの洗礼』（ウフィツィ美術館）など、彫刻に比べると限られるが、この絵の共作で話題となったレオナルド・ダ・ビンチをはじめ、ペルジーノ、クレディLorenzo di Credi（1459―1537）ら、画家として有能な多くの門人を輩出させた。

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