Bartolommeo (or Baccio) Bandinelli (November 12, 1493 - February 7, 1560), Florentine sculptor, was the son of an eminent goldsmith, and from him Bandinelli obtained the first elements of drawing. Showing a strong inclination for the fine arts, he was early placed under Rustici, a sculptor, and a friend of Leonardo da Vinci, with whom he made rapid progress. The ruling motive in his life seems to have been jealousy both of Benvenuto Cellini and of Michelangelo, one of whose cartoons he is said to have torn up and destroyed. He is regarded by some as inferior in sculpture only to Michelangelo, with whom a comparison unfavourable to Bandinelli is tempted in such works as the marble colossal group of Hercules and Cacus in the Piazza del Gran Duco, and the group of Adam and Eve in the Bargello. Among his best works must be reckoned the bassi-rilievi in the choir of the cathedral of Florence; his copy of the Laocoon; and the figures of Christ and Nicodemus on his own tomb.
It was a Hercules, and from Baccio's talk it was expected to surpass Buonarroti's David; but as his deeds did not correspond with his words, nor the work to his boasts, Baccio lost greatly in the esteem of artists and of all the city.
Baccio, desiring to hear what people said of it, sent an old pedagogue whom he kept in the house into the piazza, bidding him report to him what he heard.
Nor could Baccio conceal his opinion, but betrayed it to every one, and he now found one ready to answer him; for saying evil things of Benvenuto in the presence of the duke, Benvenuto, who was no less proud, gave him back what he received.
Feeds |
Contact