Verrocchio And The Renaissance Atelier

This book comes after the new exhibit Leonardo and surrondings, curated by Liletta Fornasari. The exhibit presents a head portraying S. Donato (patron saint of Arezzo) by Andrea del Verrocchio. In addition to Verrocchio's work, other important pieces from Tuscan Renaissance workshop will be presented. The theme of Leonardo's landscapes of Arezzo, preceded by the Madonna of the Yarnwinder exhibit, has been enriched by Carlo Starnazzi with references to the Virgin of the Rocks and the Mona Lisa, returning to observations, along the Arno's path, that provide the special Leonardesque link between science and art.

A comprehensive survey of the work of this most influential Florentine artist and teacher Andrea del Verrocchio (c. 1435–1488) was one of the most versatile and inventive artists of the Italian Renaissance. He created art across media, from his spectacular sculptures and paintings to his work in goldsmithing, architecture, and engineering. His expressive, confident drawings provide a key point of contact between sculpture and painting. He led a vibrant workshop where he taught young artists who later became some of the greatest painters of the period, including Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, Lorenzo di Credi, and Domenico Ghirlandaio. This beautifully illustrated book presents a comprehensive survey of Verrocchio's art, spanning his entire career and featuring some fifty sculptures, paintings, and drawings, in addition to works he created with his students. Through incisive scholarly essays, in-depth catalog entries, and breathtaking illustrations, this volume draws on the latest research in art history to show why Verrocchio was one of the most innovative and influential of all Florentine artists. Published in association with the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Verrocchio worked in an extraordinarily wide array of media and used unusual practices of making to express ideas.

“Studying nature with passion, and all the independence proper to his character, he could not fail to combine precision with liberty, and truth with beauty. It is in this final emancipation, this perfect mastery of modelling, of illumination, and of expression, this breadth and freedom, that the master’s raison d’être and glory consist. Others may have struck out new paths also; but none travelled further or mounted higher than he.” (Eugène Müntz)