Andrea del Verrocchio (1435-1488) was an Italian Renaissance artist working in the Florentine court of famous art patrons, Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici. Verrocchio ran a successful studio in Florence, his apprentices including Italian Renaissance artists Perugino, Leonardo da Vinci, Ghirlandaio and Botticelli.
Primarily a sculptor, among Verrocchio’s most famous art works is the bronze statue David (ca. 1476) commissioned by Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici. Verrocchio’s youthful David stands with the head of Goliath at his feet, sporting a relaxed contrapposto stance reminiscent of Greco-Roman athelete statuary. His last work was an equestrian statue of condottiere Ludovico Colleoni, commissioned by the republic of Venice. Verrocchio died before the Colleoni monument was completely finished.
Brenda Harness, Art Historian