by Tom Gurney
Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
Published on June 19, 2020 / Updated on October 14, 2023
Email: tomgurney1@gmail.com / Phone: +44 7429 011000
Attributable quotes from the Early Renaissance are famously tricky to source, even for the most famous of names, and sadly little work was done to seek out comments made by Andrea del Verrocchio
The biggest reason for this lack of content is simply because Andrea del Verrocchio's career did not reach the same levels as artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael. As such, his career ouevre has never received as much attention by art historians or researchers.
In most cases his achievements and personality were discussed from the point of view of his role as master to a number of great names, rather from that of his own work. It would always be interesting, for example, to understand more about how he felt about his pupils such as Sandro Botticelli and Da Vinci. But what about his views on his own work? And how did he view the different mediums in which he was involved?
That said, Andrea del Verrocchio was certainly by no means a complete unknown. His career was well researched centuries ago by the major art historians of the time, and reported on favourably. Such literature from the likes of Giorgio Vasari provides us with the best clue as to how he was viewed during his own lifetime as well as in the early years soon after.