Agnolo, Baccio D

Agnolo, Baccio D', an Italian wood-carver, sculptor, and architect, was born at Florence in 1460. He gained considerable distinction in wood-carving, and then went to Rome to study architecture. He still carried on his former occupation, and his studio was the resort of such artists as Michael Angelo, Sansovino, the brothers Sangallo, and others. On his return to Florence he devoted himself chiefly to architecture, and planned many of the finest palaces and- villas of the city. He introduced the fashion of applying frontispieces of columns to the doors and windows of private residences, which had hitherto been confined to churches. A much-admired work by this artist is the campanile, or bell-tower, of the Church di Santo Spirito in Florence. He died in 1543, leaving three sons, architects, one of whom, Giuliano, completed his father's unfinished works.