13 Facts About Verrocchio

Andrea del Verrocchio, born Andrea di Michele di Francesco de' Cioni, was a sculptor, Italian painter and goldsmith who was a master of an important workshop in Florence.

Verrocchio apparently became known as Verrocchio after the surname of his master, a goldsmith.

Verrocchio's pupils included Leonardo da Vinci, Pietro Perugino and Lorenzo di Credi.

Verrocchio never married, and had to provide financial support for some members of his family.

Verrocchio's workshop was in Florence where he was a member of the Guild of St Luke.

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Around 1465 Verrocchio is believed to have worked on the lavabo of the Old Sacristy in San Lorenzo, Florence.

Verrocchio therefore had the problem of placing two statues in a niche originally intended for one.

Verrocchio's David is a young lad, modestly clad, contrasting with Donatello's provocative David.

Verrocchio made a model of his proposed sculpture using wood and black leather, while the others made models of wax and clay.

Verrocchio then opened a workshop in Venice and made the final clay model which was ready to be cast in bronze, but he died in 1488, before this was done.

Verrocchio had asked that his pupil Lorenzo di Credi, who was then in charge of his workshop in Florence, should be entrusted with the finishing of the statue, but after the considerable delay the Venetian state commissioned Alessandro Leopardi to do this.

Leopardi cast the bronze very successfully and the statue is universally admired, but Pope-Hennessy suggests that, if Verrocchio had been able to do this himself, he would have finished the head and other parts more smoothly and made it even better than it is.

Verrocchio is unlikely to have ever seen Colleoni and the statue is not a portrait of the man but of the idea of a strong and ruthless military commander "bursting with titanic power and energy".