Artist

(b. 1483, Busto Arsizio, d. 1548, Milano)

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Details

Italian sculptor (originally Agostino Busti), the leading sculptor of the Lombard Renaissance. The earliest documentary information on the artist, an application by Agostino Busti and his brother Polidoro for employment as sculptors in the workshop of Milan Cathedral, dates from 1512, when he was about 30. The reply, though it refers to him as a master, shows that Agostino was not yet well known in Milan, for he was asked to produce a statue to show his skill. The application describes the brothers as 'of Busto', which suggests that they came from Busto Arsizio in Varese. According to Vasari, Agostino was known by the nickname Bambaia (under which name he generally appears in the literature). It is likely that Agostino began his training with Benedetto Briosco, as Vasari referred to his work for the Certosa di Pavia, where Briosco worked for years. Vasari also mentioned that he was 'greatly helped' by Bernardo Zenale. Between 1515 and 1521 he erected the funeral monument of Gaston de Foix (presently divided between the Castello Sforzesco and Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan, the Museo Civico di Arte Antica in Turin, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In 1522 he produces the monument for the family Birago in San Francesco Grande in Milan (now partly in the Collection Borromeo in Isola Bella). Later he made many other monuments.In 1537 he became sculptor of the Fabbrica del Duomo in Milan. The Unidentified Virtue: Possibly Hope and Fortitude in the Kimbell Art Museum, Forth Worth as well as three marble statues of virtues in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, are the only examples of his statuary outside of Italy. //

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Category	Artists
Artists by letter	B
Artist nationality	Italian