A ‘Young Saint John the Baptist' in terracotta by Andrea Sansovino

The purpose of the paper is to add a new terracotta to Andrea Sansovino's catalogue. The sculpture, whose location is unknown, represents the 'Young Saint John the Baptist'. Stylistic analysis allows us to compare the sculpture with other works that Sansovino carved during his stay in Rome, like the tomb monument for Ascanio Maria Sforza (1505-1509) in the basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo, or the famous sculptural group of the 'Virgin and Child with Saint Anne' (1511-1512) made for the altar of the Apostolic Protonotary Johann Göritz in the basilica of Sant'Agostino. The quality of this little terracotta is high, and the rendering of the anatomy impressive: these features allow us to include the little Baptist in the greatest Florentine Renaissance tradition of 'puttos'. This tradition is associated with Benedetto da Maiano, the great artist who played an important role in Andrea Sansovino and Michelangelo's education.

In this paper we also ascribe a fragment of a 'Putto' to Benedetto da Maiano. At the beginning of the 20th century the work was recorded in the collection of Edouard Aynard, a rich French banker and art patron. Continuing with the iconography of the Young Saint John the Baptist, the paper identifies two other full-length examples: a marble sculpture by Gregorio di Lorenzo that was in the Lazzaroni collection (Paris), and a terracotta one – considered to be an original piece by Benedetto da Maiano – situated in the Chiostro dello Scalzo in Florence.

Index

Aegyptiaca ligoriana: Isis and the “gran bubo” from Hadrian's Villa to the gardens of the Quirinale
read abstract » pag. 2-27
The San Clemente polyptych by Agostino De Marchi and Marco Zoppo: documents, chronology and style
read abstract » pag. 28-49
Angiolo Del Santo, a sculptor dedicated to graphic work on the covers of 'Vita d'Arte'
read abstract » pag. 50-63
A new tomb of the Late Orientalising period found in Tivoli in the context of relations between the Valle dell'Aniene and the adjoining Italic communities
read abstract » pag. 64-73
Three identifications of ancient statues from the engravings of Giovanni Battista de Cavalieri
read abstract » pag. 74-75
“Bonamicho excellentissimo maestro”. On Luciano Bellosi's Buffalmacco
read abstract » pag. 76-87
Trionfalmacco per Pisa
read abstract » pag. 88-94
The fragmentary epigraph painted in the 'Resurrection' by Piero della Francesca: a hypothetical reconstruction
read abstract » pag. 95-97
New research on San Giovanni di Verdara in Padua: Bishop Pietro Barozzi and the workshop of Pierantonio Degli Abati
read abstract » pag. 98-109
On the early activity of Antoniazzo Romano: the 'Madonna del Buon Consiglio' triptych for Zagarolo
read abstract » pag. 110-123
A 'Young Saint John the Baptist' in terracotta by Andrea Sansovino
read abstract » pag. 124-143
A clarification regarding the “scrittoio” of Margaret of Parma
read abstract » pag. 144-147
A long misunderstanding: 'Saints James the Less and Philip' by Paolo Veronese from Lecce to Dublin
read abstract » pag. 148-163
Another trace of Tanzio in Naples
read abstract » pag. 164-183
Bernini the painter: the reappearance of the Costa 'Portrait of a Young Man'
read abstract » pag. 184-185
Notes on a 17th-century guide to Rome from the library of Giuliano Briganti
read abstract » pag. 186-195