Sansovino, Andrea Contucci

Sansovino, Andrea Contucci, An Italian sculptor and architect, was born in 1460 at Monte-Sansovino, in Tuscany. He was the son of a poor peasant, but was sent to Florence through the liberality of a fellow townsman, and studied under Antonio del Pollajuolo. At the age of thirty he was called to Portugal, where he remained nine years, and constructed various edifices for John II and Emmanuel I. In Rome are the tombs of cardinals Sforza and Basso, executed by Sansovino, and in the Church of St. Anna the group The Madonna and St. Ann, one of his best works. He also executed some beautiful bas reliefs at Loretto. He died in 1529.