Antonio Rossellino

Who was Antonio Rossellino?

Antonio Gamberelli, nicknamed Antonio Rossellino for the colour of his hair, was an Italian sculptor. His older brother, from whom he received his formal training, was the painter Bernardo Rossellino.

Born in Settignano, now a part of Florence, he was the youngest of five brothers, sculptors and stonecutters. He is said to have studied under Donatello and is remarkable for the sharpness and fineness of his bas-relief. His most important works are the funeral monument of Beato Marcolino for the Blackfriar Church, Forlì, and the monument of Infante James of Coimbra, cardinal of Portugal in the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte, Florence.

The portrait bust of Matteo Palmieri in the Bargello is signed and dated 1468. In 1470 he made the monument for the Duchess of Amalfi, Mary of Aragon, in the Church of Monte Oliveto, Naples; the relief of the Nativity over the altar in the same place is also probably his. A statue of John the Baptist as a boy is in the Bargello; also a delicate relief of the Madonna and Child, an Ecce Homo, and a bust of Francesco Sassetti.