Sansovino, Jacopo

orig. Jacopo Tatti

(born July 2, 1486, Florence, Republic of Florence—died Nov. 27, 1570, Venice, Republic of Venice) Italian sculptor and architect. He trained in Florence under Andrea Sansovino, whose name he adopted. In 1505–06 he moved to Rome to study architecture and work on the restoration of ancient sculpture. After the sack of Rome in 1527 he fled to Venice, where he was appointed state architect (1529). His Library of St. Mark's (begun 1537) is one of the major architectural works of the 16th century. His vivid sculptures were often important decorative elements of his buildings. His best-known statues are the colossal figures of Mars and Neptune on the staircase of the Doges' Palace (1554–66). He was more successful than any other Renaissance architect in fusing architecture and sculpture.

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