.

Vitruvius (c.78-10 BCE)

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, better known simply as Vitruvius, was a
Roman architect and engineer of the 1st century BCE. Due to the classical
foundation of Renaissance art in general, and Renaissance architecture in
particular, Vitruvius has become one of the most famous architects - not
for anything he designed, but for his erudite multi-volume treatise De
Architectura ("On Architecture"), written around 27 BCE and republished
during the Early Renaissance in 1486. Apart from what little we can glean
from this work, we know little about his life and career, or the architecture
for which he may have been responsible. Even so, because his unique
treatise covers all aspects of classical building design, it has become a bible
of sorts for many students of classical antiquity, and he himself is regarded
as one of the principal contemporary authorities on Greek architecture and
(to a lesser extent) Roman architecture, about which (ironically) he was
more pessimistic. For a comparison with a leading architect from Ancient
Egypt, see: Imhotep (active c.2650 BCE).
 Henry Hobson Richardson (1838-86)
One of the great American architects whose buildings helped
to transform 19th century architectural design in the United States,
H.H. Richardson ranks alongside Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) and
Louis Sullivan (1856-1924) in his contribution to American art:
indeed, some historians consider him to be America's best 19th-century
architect. His designs, based on Romanesque art, triggered a decade of
Romanesque Revival in America, and his buildings had a significant
impact on the Chicago School of architecture and its pioneering
skyscraper designs. Although his initial fame came from his design of
Trinity Church, Boston, his main achievements in architectural design
occurred in four building types: commercial buildings, commuter train
station buildings, public libraries, and private houses. Of these, his two
greatest works of 19th century architecture were the Allegheny County
Courthouse and Jail (1883-88), and the Marshall Field Wholesale Store
(1885-87) in Chicago. His assistants included many leaders of the next
generation of American architects, such as Charles McKim (1847-
1909), Stanford White (1853-1906), George Shepley (1860-1903) and
John Galen Howard (1864-1931). HH Richardson is today ranked
among the greatest architects of 19th century America.
 Jacopo Sansovino (1486-1570)
One of the great Renaissance sculptors in Florence, Jacopo Sansovino was instrumental in
introducing the High Renaissance style of art to Venice, although he is probably best known for his
Venetian Renaissance architecture, notably the public library, the Mint and St Marks Square. In the
fine arts, he excelled in sculpture and his best known work includes his bronze relief sculpture
Allegory of Redemption (1546-65, Basilica di San Marco, Venice), and his statue of Bacchus (1510,
Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence).

Sansovino initially worked in Rome and Florence. He attracted the attention of the artists
Donato Bramante and Raphael with a wax model (the Deposition of Christ) that he sculpted on
behalf of Perugino (1446–1524) to use for a competition. In 1511 he obtained a Florentine
commission for a marble statue of St James (1511-18) for the Duomo. The commission was a
continuation of a project for the twelve Apostles which had been abandoned by Michelangelo.

Sansovino also carved a marble sculpture of Bacchus for the Duomo, which is now housed in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence.
Sansovino's Bacchus (God of Wine) is different to Michelangelo's Bacchus (also in the Bargello) which he had no doubt seen. Where
Michelangelo's is bloated and inebriated, Sansovino's is healthy and joyful. In his famous book Lives of The Artists, the biographer Giorgio Vasari
(1511-74) admired Sansovino's Bacchus for its 'virtuoso carving', especially for the extended arm, a technical feat which no ancient sculptor had
accomplished in marble without a strut. In 1527, after the violent upheaval of the 'Sack of Rome' by foreign mercenaries, which brought down the
curtain on Renaissance art, Sansovino moved to Venice.
 Andrea Palladio (1508-80)
One of the giants of Venetian Renaissance architecture of the 16th
century, Andrea Palladio based his designs on the values of Greek architecture,
and the traditions of Roman architecture as outlined by Vitruvius. He is regarded
as one of the greatest architects in the history of Western art, best known for his
villas (in the Veneto), as well as his palaces (Vicenza) and churches (Venice), all
located within the Venetian Republic. His architectural theories were laid out in
his treatise Quattro Libri dell Architettura (The Four Books of Architecture),
which had a profound impact on building design throughout Europe and
America. His style of architecture - a blend of Greek, Roman and Renaissance
art, later known as Palladianism - accorded the greatest priority to maintaining
symmetry, perspective, and overall harmony, in the manner of Greco-Roman
temple architecture, and was widely imitated during the 17th and 18th centuries.
In effect it was an early form of Neoclassical architecture. Palladio's greatest
works include: the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore (1562, Venice), Villa
Cornaro (1552-54, Piombino Dese, Treviso), Villa Capra (La Rotunda) (1566-
91 Vicenza), and the Church of Il Redentore (1577-92, Venice). Several of
Palladio's buildings in Vicenza and in Veneto are protected as UNESCO World
Heritage Sites. In both his practical designs and his interest in architectural
theory, Palladio had much in common with another great architect of the
Mannerism period, Giacomo da Vignola (1507-73).
 Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574)
Although famous for his painting and architecture, Giorgio
Vasari is today best-known for his volume of biographies of Italian
artists - Le Vita delle più eccellenti pittori, scultori, ed architettori (Lives
of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects) or "the Vite"
for short) - published in 1550.

The book chronicles the origins, olution, and historical

development of Renaissance art via the lives and works of the greatest
Old Masters of the period, providing a unique insight into their
techniques, habits, relationships, and aesthetic accomplishments. Vasari
profiled the proto-Renaissance painters like Cimabue (1240-1302) and
Giotto (1267-1337); pioneers of the Florentine Renaissance such as
Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446), Donatello (1386-1466), and
Tommaso Masaccio (c.1401-28); and the giants of the High Renaissance
(c.1490-1530) like Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519), Raphael (1483-
1520), Michelangelo (1475-1564) and Correggio (1490-1534).

Also, as the first significant commentary on the Italian

Renaissance, the Vite effectively shaped our impression of this era for
centuries afterwards.