Michelozzo

Michelozzo

full name Michelozzo di Bartolommeo. 1396--1472, Italian architect and sculptor. His most important design was the Palazzo Riccardo for the Medici family in Florence (1444--59)

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Michelozzo 

(full name Michelozzo di Bartolommeo). Born 1396 in Florence; buried there Oct. 7, 1472. Italian architect and sculptor of the quattrocento.

Michelozzo was originally a master of casting and engraving. From 1417 to 1424 he worked with L. Ghiberti (north door of the Baptistery in Florence). From 1425 to 1438 he shared a workshop with Donatello; their joint works (pulpit of the cathedral in Prato, marble, 1433–38), in which Michelozzo did the architectural decoration, are noted for the classical balance of images.

As an architect, Michelozzo continued in the tradition of F. Brunelleschi, whom he succeeded as the architect of the Florence Cathedral (1446–51). He built the cubic Medici-Riccardi Palace in Florence (1444–60), which has rusticated facades and an interior courtyard surrounded by loggias. This building became a model for 15th-century palace construction. Michelozzo also designed a number of villas near Florence, which were prototypes of later Renaissance villas. Among his sculptural works is the Aragazzi Tomb (marble, c. 1437, Victoria and Albert Museum, London).

REFERENCES

Morisani, O. Michelozzo architetto. [Turin, 1951.]
Gori-Montanelli, L. Brunelleschi e Michelozzo. Florence, 1957.