art in venice, 1400–1600 785
Particularly outstanding was the collection of cardinal Giovanni
Grimani, not only for its antiquities but also for its paintings by Hierony-
mus Bosch and other Dutch artists. For these, the collector and connois-
seur had his palace at S. Maria Formosa redecorated and, from 1537 on,
embellished by Middle italian artists. the gallery, with overhead illumina-
tion for its antiquities, the tribuna, was probably designed by the master
of the house. Grimani’s antiquities came to the republic as a gift in 1593
and have constituted the Statuario Pubblico in the Procurator’s Palace (the
Libreria) since that time.
A shift in interest from antiquity to the roman and Florentine works of
Michelangelo began with Sansovino’s work in Venice from 1526 onwards.
Painters (such as Paolo Veronese in the fifties) and sculptors (such as
Alessandro Vittoria) were, at certain moments in their careers, very much
interested in the works of the divine Michelangelo as models for their own
production. Drawings, prints, and small copies after some of Michelangelo’s
works were known in Venice. tintoretto used to copy small sculptures in
some of his drawings. Autograph sculptural works of Michelangelo were
not present in Venice. As self-confident as he was open to the art of his
newly chosen home, Sansovino also observed local traditions (as in the
case of the Arsenal-Madonna 1537); he further developed Florentine and
roman styles; he shone—in his bronzes for the Loggetta and the Pres-
bytery of San Marco—with his own inventions, some of which were also
studied by tintoretto. By about the middle of the century, he had already
begun to delegate portions of his commissions for statuary to sculptors
such as Danese cattaneo (c.1509–73), Alessandro Vittoria, tiziano Minio
(1517–52), or Pietro Grazioli da Salo (d. c.1561–63). He undertook the com-
mission for the tomb of the Doge Francesco Venier (d. 1556, S. Salvatore)
together with, among others, Alessandro Vittoria.
Soon after 1550, Alessandro Vittoria developed his own personal style.
As a stuccoist he was unsurpassed. Sansovino seems to have left to him
the tasks such as altars, whose figures he completed personally. Vittoria
was especially successful with his busts for epitaphs and tombs that com-
bined naturalism with idealization. the evolution of his conceptions and
his style are evidenced by themes like St Jerome (S. Maria dei Frari, 1565
and SS. Giovanni e Paolo, 1576) and the statues of St Sebastian. the “early
Baroque” forms of his tombs and altars were studied far beyond Venice.
Vittoria, too, valued co-workers who, like Andrea dall’Aquila (c.1565 to
post-1608), came to his aid in comprehensive commissions. As in the
case of contemporary painting, the separate areas of work on a piece did