Equestrian Statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni (Venice, Italy): Andrea del Verrocchio (1435 - 1488)

The 16th-century was the Golden Age for Venetian art. Verrocchio's presence in Venice in the latter half of the preceding century -- and the Equestrian statue which resulted from his thinking and labor -- were early markers of this most significant period.

The subject of the lauded Verrocchio equestrian statue was Bartolomeo Colleone, a well-regarded Condottieri (mercenary leader) who had been Captain-General of the Serenissima forces since 1455.

Giovanni Battista Moroni, Portrait of
Bartolomeo Colleone, 1566

Bartolomeo was born in Solza (vicinity of Bergamo) in 1400 and followed in the footsteps of his father. Bartolomeo fought under a number of non-Venetian contracts but always remained loyal to that polity. He was a very wealthy man with assets spread between cash and a number of properties. 

Upon his death in 1475, he bequeathed 100,000 ducats to the Venetian state to aid in their fight with the Turks. In return, he requested that the state build a monument to him in Piazza San Marco. Venetian law did not allow for the placement of personal monuments within that square; but the state needed the funds. Rather than say that Bartolemeo's wish could not be granted -- and lose the funds -- the Senate proceeded with the design and construction and emplaced the finished monument next to the Scuole Grande di San Marco in the Campo San Giovanni e Paolo; not exactly what the Condottieri had had in mind.

The Senate opened a competition for the design of the monument in 1481 and invited Verrocchio, Bartolomeo Bellano (a Donatelli protegé), and Leopardi (a Venetian foundryman) to participate. Verrochio displayed his model in 1483 and the wood and leather model was adjudged to be the superior submission due to its "dynamism and anatomical precision." Verrocchio opened a new workshop in Venice to work on the full commission and remained in the city until his death in 1488.

Before delving further into the monument and its construction, let's get a better understanding of its creator.

According to the National Gallery of Art, Verrocchio was one of the leading artists of late 15th-century Florence; as a sculptor, "the most important figure in the Renaissance between Donatello and Michelangelo." His works were "of unprecedented technical accomplishment and breathtaking naturalness and beauty."

Leonardo da Vinci was apprenticed to Verrocchio and, in his biography of the former, Isaacson provides some insight into the latter's workshop and teaching practices. The shop was on two levels with the ground floor dedicated to production and assistants eating and sleeping together of the top floor. The training regime was intensive with studies around surface anatomy, mechanics, drawing techniques, and the effect of light and shade on material such as draperies

Objects were mass-produced by the students in pursuit of a goal of a constant flow of marketable art and artifacts. Verrocchio himself was trained as a goldsmith so left much of the painterly activities to others. He was a kind master; so much so that many of his students (Leonardo included) continued to live and work with him after their apprenticeships were completed. Notable students included Lorenzo di Credi, Pietro Perugini, Leonardo, Botticelli, and Ghirlandaio.

In the painting arena, NGA views Verrocchio as forming "a direct link in the central chain of Florentine painting between his master Fra Filippo Lippi and his own pupil Leonardo da Vinci." In speaking of Verrocchio's skill as a sculptor, Isaacson saw his "ability to convey the subtleties of motion in a piece of still art" as one of his most under-appreciated talents. "More than most previous artists, Verrocchio imbued his statues with twists, turns, and flows." His paintings were mostly religious while his sculptures covered a wide range of topics.

In speaking of Verrocchio's skill as a sculptor, Isaacson saw his "ability to convey the subtleties of motion in a piece of still art" as one of his most under-apreciated talents. "More than most previous artists, Verrocchio imbued his statues with twists, turns, and flows."

Now back to the construction of the monument.

According to the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, "Verrocchio aimed to create a monument that outshone Donatelli's Gattamelata, the first Renaissance equestrian statue. In his monumental sculpture Verrocchio succeeded in raising the front leg of the horse in the air. This unprecedented success gave the composition additional dynamism and vitality."

Donatello, Equestrian Statue
of Gattamelata, 1453

Shortly after casting his work in clay, Verrocchio fell ill and died in June 1488. His will called for the work to be completed by his assistant Lorenzo di Credi but the Senate was not on board. Instead they recalled Alessandro Leopardi from a 5-year exile (resulting from fraud charges) to finish the job. Leopardi added a number of features:

• Details of the Colleoni arms
• Harnessing for the horse
• The bronze frieze on the entablature
• Placed his name on the horse's girth
• Pedestal.

The completed bronze sculpture stood at 395 cm (about 13 feet). Eric van Schaach (Andrea del Verrocchio, EBSCO) describes it thusly:

It is a work of enormous power, and the violent and aggressive twist of the rider's body gives a sense of tremendous energy waiting to be unleashed. To achieve this effect Verrocchio has twisted the figure to the limits of human possibility. Similarly, the brutal face is an unflinching delineation of a type, not an individual, but is rendered so plausibly that it seems more vital than any portrait.

Andrea del Verrocchio, Equestrian

Statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni,

1480 - 96

The pedestal exhibited the following characteristics (ermakvagus.com): 

• Classical-inspired design with decorative columns reminiscent of ancient Roman imperial equestrian monuments
• Ornamentation incorporating the Colleoni family coat of arms
• A high base that raises the horse and rider above eye level
• Inscriptions and architectural moldings that blend Renaissance classicism with Venetian elements
• More than doubles the overall height.

Verrocchio equestrian statue on
the Leopardi pedestal

The statue was presented to the Venetian public on March 21, 1496. Venice now had the foremost equestrian statue in the world.

After centuries of exposure to the mix of salt from the lagoon, humidity, and air pollutants, the monument was in a situation where further inattention would yield corrosion with resultant surface erosion and a weakening of the armature (World Monuments Fund). To address the situation, the Fund began a process of cleaning and restoration of the monument in 2003. It set up a temporary conservation studio on site and conducted the following activities (WMF):

• Treated severely rusted armature
• Replaced unsalvageable structural members
• Secured the statue to its stone base
• Implanted a monitoring device to track future changes to the monument.

This conservation effort was completed in 2006.