Jacopo della Quercia

orig. Jacopo di Piero di Angelo

(born c. 1374, Siena—died Oct. 20, 1438, Bologna, Papal States) Italian sculptor active in Siena. He was the son of a goldsmith and wood carver. His earliest major work is the tomb of Ilaria del Carretto in Lucca Cathedral (c. 1406–08). His most important commission for Siena was the fountain known as Fonte Gaia (1408–19) in the Piazza del Campo. He worked with Donatello and Lorenzo Ghiberti on reliefs for the baptismal font in the Baptistery in Siena (1417–30). His last and greatest work was the sculptural reliefs around the portal of San Petronio in Bologna (1425–30). In 1435 he was appointed supervising architect of Siena Cathedral. He elevated Sienese sculpture to a place of prominence and influenced subsequent Sienese painters. The greatest non-Florentine sculptor of the 15th century, he was a major influence on the young Michelangelo.

Find more information on Jacopo della Quercia. Upgrade to Britannica Online for more on Jacopo della Quercia.