Nanni di Banco

Who was Nanni di Banco?

Nanni d'Antonio di Banco was an Italian sculptor from Florence.

He helped create the winning model for the Duomo of the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral in Florence, under the leadership of Filippo Brunelleschi, alongside Donatello. His sculpture works for the church include the Assumption of the Virgin, just over the Porta della Mandorla.

Nanni di Banco's most famous work is perhaps the Quattro Santi Coronati group, depicting the Four Crowned Martyrs, at Orsanmichele, completed about 1415 and strongly influenced by the classical tradition. The Four Crowned Martyrs were patron saints of the stonemasons' guild.

Giorgio Vasari includes a biography of Nanni di Banco in his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects.