Artist

(b. 1540, Milano, d. 1587, Milano)

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Details

Italian medallist, hardstone-engraver and sculptor. He came from a family of Swiss origin, from Ticino, and was active mainly in Milan. According to Giovanni Paolo Lomazzo, his great friend, Fontana in his early career, before 1570, was active mainly making medals and engraving on rock crystal and hardstones (pietre dure). Based on references in Lomazzo, portrait medals of Francesco Ferdinando d'Avalos and Lomazzo have been attributed to Fontana. The status and occupations of the subjects of his medals indicate that Fontana was in contact with patrons of high rank and with the intellectual circles of Milan. Stylistically, the three medals derive from Leone Leoni and Jacopo da Trezzo I (c. 1517-1589), and these influences continued in his work. Fontana's rock crystal engravings were in great demand by aristocratic patrons. The numerous crystal engravings attributed to Fontana are distinguished by a masterly use of space, with active figures showing the influence of Michelangelo mediated through that of Leoni. Examples are - among others - in the Residenz, Munich; in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna; in the Metropolitan Museum, New York; and in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. From 1570 he turned increasingly to sculpture. The first reference to Fontana as a marble sculptor dates from 1570, when he is documented in Palermo in connection with a valuation of reliefs by Vincenzo Gagini (1527–95) for the portal of the cathedral there. His presence in Palermo is important evidence of his contact with the Gagini family workshop and also supports the hypothesis that he visited Rome and saw work there by followers of Michelangelo, particularly Guglielmo della Porta. Fontana returned to Milan by 1572 and two years later entered the service of the Fabbrica (Church Works) of Santa Maria presso San Celso. All his known work as a sculptor was made for this church and is well documented in its archives. He collaborated with Stoldo di Gino Lorenzi on the façade of the church. The quality of this work indicates that he was already experienced in the field of large-scale sculpture, although no earlier example by him is known. His first two statues for the façade were the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah (1575–76), for the niches of the upper order. The statues of Sibyls (1577–79) reclining on the tympanum of the main portal, which have deep-cut drapery and expressive faces, derive from Michelangelo and della Porta. From 1580 to 1583 Fontana executed three large reliefs for the façade: the Adoration of the Shepherds, the Presentation at the Temple and the Marriage at Cana. Fontana next executed statues of the Assumption of the Virgin and two Angels for the pinnacle. The contract of 1583 specified four angels, two praying and two singing. Only the latter were carved by him, however; the praying angels were completed to his design after his death by Milano Vimercati (active 1577–1593). Two wax models for the Angels (Museum of Art, Cleveland; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles) are rare surviving 16th-century examples in perishable material. Fontana also worked on statues for the interior of the church, including St John the Evangelist (1583–87) for a niche to the right of the main altar and an Assumption of the Virgin (1583–86) for the altar of the Vergine dei Miracoli. //

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Category	Artists
Artists by letter	F
Artist nationality	Italian