AMMANNATI, BARTOLOMEO

(1511-1592)

Tuscan sculptor and architect who assistedJacopo SansovinoinVeniceandMichelangeloand Giacomo da Vignola inRome. By 1555, Ammannati was inFlorenceserving theMedicidukes. His most important architectural work is the Palazzo Pitti Courtyard (beg. 1560), a commission he received from Cosimo I de' Medici who purchased the palace in 1549 and that is one of the great masterpieces of theManneristmovement. HisNeptuneFountain(1563-1575), in the Piazza della Signoria, Florence, is his most notable sculpture commission. In the early 1580s, Ammannati developed strong ties to theJesuit Order. The influence of the Jesuits led to his public renunciation of the depiction of the nude form, which he now deemed sinful. In his declaration, he contended that an artist could just as well show his skill by rendering the clothed figure and he made specific reference to the shameful nude god of the oceans featured in hisNeptune Fountain.