FERRUCCI, Andrea di Piero

Italian sculptor and architect, also known as Andrea da Fiesole, member of a family of artists, first cousin of Francesco di Simone Ferrucci. According to Vasari, he learnt the rudiments of his art from Francesco and completed his training under Michele Maini from Fiesole, of whom nothing else is known. His style was rooted in the realistic tradition of the late 15th century. As he matured it was modified, but only slightly, by the classical trends of the 16th century. He was in Naples in 1487, he may have lived there for several years, possibly engaged on different projects for King Ferdinand I through his promotion by the King’s architect and military engineer, Antonio di Giorgio Marchesi (1451-1522) from Settignano, whose daughter he married.

Although Andrea is documented as temporarily in residence at Naples in June 1508, by that time he was already in the service of the Opera (Cathedral Works) of Florence Cathedral, and it appears that all his documented works, whether for patrons in Tuscany or elsewhere, were executed in Florence.

The earliest of his documented works are a marble altarpiece with a ciborium for Fiesole Cathedral (in situ), commissioned from him in 1488 but not completed until 1492-93, and a marble baptismal font for Pistoia Cathedral (in situ). From 1512 to 1518, he superintended the work on the Duomo of Florence, for which he himself executed a statue of St Andrew.

In 1519 Andrea was engaged on a major project outside Tuscany: a marble altarpiece commissioned by Tamás Bakócz, Cardinal and Archbishop of Esztergom in Hungary, for the Cardinal’s chapel in Esztergom Cathedral (in situ).

In 1521-22 Andrea was again working in Florence Cathedral, carving the life-size marble commemorative bust of Marsilio Ficino for a wall niche next to the Porta dei Canonici. In 1524 Michelangelo engaged Andrea as capomaestro of San Lorenzo, to direct the work on the tombs in the Medici Chapel.