Antonio Abondio

Who was Antonio Abondio?

Antonio Abondio was an Italian sculptor, best known as a medallist and as the pioneer of the coloured wax relief portrait miniature.

Born in Riva del Garda, he worked in Italy between 1552 and 1565, and thereafter mainly for the Habsburgs. His son Alessandro followed in his father's footsteps, also specializing in mythological reliefs, and marrying the widow of another court artist, Hans von Aachen.

Thirteen of Abondio's wax portraits survive, and about sixty medals. He also made the dies for the first coinage of Emperor Rudolf II. Initially his style in metal followed that of Leone Leoni, for the facade of whose house in Milan he carved eight large atlantes in stone, but later included many other influences.

He died at Vienna in 1591.