Reliefs on the main portal (detail)
by BRIOSCO, Benedetto, Marble
In July 1492 Briosco was hired by Amadeo as his assistant at the Certosa di Pavia and was probably at first chiefly occupied with decorations for the fa�ade of the church. Towards the end of the 1490s Amadeo and Briosco began work on the main portal of the church of the Certosa. Amadeo relinquished all responsibility for the fa�ade in 1499, and the portal was completed by Briosco and assistants. The reliefs that encrust the portal have a liveliness and, at times, an almost foppish elegance that distinguishes them from Amadeo’s more sober contribution.
In 1508 Briosco and Antonio della Porta took over responsibility for the construction and decoration of the fa�ade of the Certosa di Pavia. Benedetto was partially occupied with this project until at least 1513.
The present picture shows reliefs depicting Gian Galeazzo Visconti laying the foundation stone, and Stories from the life of St Ambrose and Stories from the life of Christ.