Orsanmichele is a church in the Italian city of Florence. The building was constructed on the site of the kitchen garden of the monastery of San Michele which no longer exists.
Nanni d'Antonio di Banco was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Florence. He was a contemporary of Donatello - both are first recorded as sculptors in the accounts of the Florence Duomo in 1406, presumably as young masters.
Donatello's Saint Mark (1411–1413) is a marble statue that stands approximately seven feet and nine inches high and is displayed in the museum of the Orsanmichele church, Florence. It originally was displayed in an exterior niche of the church, where a copy now stands.
The Four Crowned Martyrs or Four Holy Crowned Ones were nine individuals who are venerated as martyrs and saints of Early Christianity. The nine saints are divided into two groups:
- Severus, Severian(us), Carpophorus (Carpoforus), Victorinus
- Claudius, Castorius, Symphorian (Simpronian), Nicostratus, and Simplicius
St. John the Baptist (1412–1416) is a bronze statue by Lorenzo Ghiberti located in one of the 14 niches of the Orsanmichele in Florence, Italy. The statue of the Saint was commissioned by the cloth merchant's guild, the Arte di Calimala. The artist's use of unnaturalistic but elegant curves in the hair and drapery of the saint show the influence of the International Gothic style prevalent in Italy at the time the work was created. The work was successfully cast in a single piece, making it the first bronze statue of its size to be cast in a single piece for at least several hundred years in Italy.
Baccio da Montelupo, born Bartolomeo di Giovanni d'Astore dei Sinibaldi, was a sculptor of the Italian Renaissance. He is the father of another Italian sculptor, Raffaello da Montelupo. Both father and son are profiled in Vasari's Le Vite delle più eccellenti pittori, scultori, ed architettori.
Orsanmichele's St. James the Major Tabernacle located on the southern façade of Orsanmichele, in Florence, is the tabernacle of The Guild of Furriers and Skinners. The statue of St. James the Major, by Niccolò di Piero Lamberti, once occupied the niche but is now housed in the Museum of Orsanmichele.
The Barbadori Altarpiece is a painting by Filippo Lippi, dated to 1438 and housed in the Louvre Museum of Paris.
The Palazzo dell'Arte dei Beccai or Residenza dell'Arte dei Beccai is a fourteenth-century building in Florence, Italy. It faces the Orsanmichele, once a grain market, later the church of the guilds of Florence. It has had many occupants, including the Arte dei Beccai or guild of butchers from which its name derives. Since 1974 it has housed the Accademia Fiorentina delle Arti del Disegno, an academy of the arts.
Saint George Freeing the Princess is a marble stiacciato bas-relief sculpture by Donatello, sculpted around 1416 or 1417. It was originally situated under the same artist's Saint George on an external niche of the church of Orsanmichele in Florence; both works are now in the Bargello Museum, with replicas replacing them in their original positions.
Saint George is a marble sculpture by Donatello. It is one of fourteen sculptures commissioned by the guilds of Florence to decorate the external niches of the Orsanmichele church. St. George was commissioned by the guild of the armorers and sword makers, the Arte dei Corazzai e Spadai.
The Madonna of the Rose is a 2.2 metre high marble sculpture of the Madonna and Child enthroned, with the Child trying to take a bunch of rosa canina from his mother's hand. It forms part of a cycle of fourteen sculptures of the patron saints of the guilds of Florence on the external niches of the Orsanmichele church. No documents survive to precisely date it, leading to several theories and attributions. Most art historians attribute it to Pietro di Giovanni Tedesco, a German or Flemish sculptor active in Florence in the sculpture-yard of Florence Cathedral. It shows similarities to late works from the school of Giotto.
Saint Philip is an Apuan marble statue of Philip the Apostle by Nanni di Banco. It forms part of a cycle of fourteen sculptures commissioned for the external niches of Orsanmichele in Florence, each showing the patron saint of one of the city's guilds. It is 2.5 m high and was commissioned by the Arte dei Calzolai. Completed around 1410-1412, it is now in the Museo di Orsanmichele, although a replica fills its original niche.
Saint John the Evangelist is a 2.66 m high bronze statue of John the Evangelist by Baccio da Montelupo, completed in 1515. It was commissioned by the Arte della Seta as part of a cycle of fourteen sculptures for the external niches of Orsanmichele, each showing the patron saint of one of the guilds of Florence. It is now in the Museo di Orsanmichele, although a replica fills its original niche.
Saint Luke is a 2.73 m high bronze statue of Luke the Evangelist by Giambologna, commissioned by the Arte dei Giudici e Notai and completed in 1597–1602. One of a cycle of fourteen commissioned by the guilds of Florence for the external niches of Orsanmichele, it is now in the Museo di Orsanmichele, although a replica fills its original niche.
Saint Matthew is a 2.7-m high bronze statue of Saint Matthew by Lorenzo Ghiberti, completed in 1420 for the Arte del Cambio. One of a cycle of fourteen patron saints of the Florentine guilds commissioned for the external niches of Orsanmichele, it is now in the Museo di Orsanmichele.
Saint Stephen is a 2.6 m high bronze statue of saint Stephen by Lorenzo Ghiberti, completed for the Arte della Lana guild in 1427–28. It is now in the Museo di Orsanmichele, although a replica fills its original niche on the exterior of Orsanmichele, where it was one of a cycle of fourteen sculptures, each showing the patron saint of one of the guilds of Florence.
Saint Peter is a Apuan marble sculpture of Saint Peter of 2.43 m high. It is attributed to Filippo Brunelleschi and his style is influenced by Donatello. It forms part of a cycle of fourteen statues of the patron saints of the guilds of Florence for the external niches of Orsanmichele. The sculpture of St Peter was completed for the Arte dei Beccai (butchers) guild around 1412 and is now in the Museo di Orsanmichele, although a replica fills its original niche.
Saint Eligius is an Apuan marble statue of saint Eligius by Nanni di Banco, forming part of a cycle of fourteen patron saints of the Florentine guilds for the external niches of Orsanmichele. It was commissioned by the Arte dei Maniscalchi guild and completed around 1417–1421, although it took until around 1422 for it to be put up in its niche. That niche is now filled by a replica, with the original in the Museo di Orsanmichele.
Saint Louis of Toulouse is a 1423–1425 gilded bronze sculpture of Louis of Toulouse by Donatello, measuring 2.26 m high by 0.85 m wide. It is now in the refectory of the Museo di Santa Croce in Florence.
