Spanish School

In the Renaissance Baccio Bandinelli was one of the most important sculptors ever. He erected all the works of art and was awarded several medals. Nevertheless, he was rather little appreciated for his work. He is said to have been a very determined and motivated artist. Due to these qualities, however, he was also a person plagued by much envy and ill will. He also had a very bad relationship with the artist Benvenuto Cellini. One can even speak of an enmity. This began already in his childhood. He was also not the only one with whom Baccio Bandinelli had a problem. There is a lot to tell about the life of Baccio Bandinelli. It should be especially emphasized that he was born as a simple man and worked his way up bit by bit. This was very rare at that time. However, the means that helped the artist to a higher status were often not rightful. He lived with his family in Italy. His father was a Florentine goldsmith and had his own store. There the young artist was also initially trained. Then he began an apprenticeship with the sculptor Giovanni Francesco Rustici. There he made acquaintance with the very famous artist Leonardo da Vinci. Baccio Bandinelli received lessons from Leonardo da Vinci.

He later worked for the Medici. In addition, he wanted to become a knight of the Order of St. James. However, this was only possible with a noble descent. Because he could not show this, he had a family tree falsified. With this act, his single-mindedness becomes very clear again. In fact, this is how he managed to become a knight of the Order of Saint James. Bandinelli completed all of his works during his lifetime. One of his most famous works is the Hercules and Cacus group. It was meant to commemorate the victory of the Medici. The murder of Alessandro then put Bandinelli in charge of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. Thus he was in charge of all the sculpture work to be done in Italy. Despite his strong determination, he lost prestige over time. The reason for this was that Baccio Bandinelli became more unreliable with time. Nevertheless, the artist still received the commission for the Neptune Fountain in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence. Baccio Bandinelli died at the age of 70. Even though he was not well liked by many people, he was still a gifted artist with incredible skills. His works were unique and he possessed a great amount of willpower.