ANDREA VERROCCHIO
Painter, Sculptor and Architect of Florence
(1435-1488)

Name: Michelle
Date: 2002-10-30
Comments: Hello Geoffrey,
In response to your question on why only one painting by this great master has survived, it is probably because alot of the works that came out of his Florentine workshop back in the mid 1400's(Renassaince Period) are unattributed works. Meaning that we do not have artists linked to specific paintings. They could be Leonardo's or Perugino's , etc. We know the Baptism of Christ well, because Leonardo painted the kneeling angel, and possibly part of the background. Also, because it has been well documented by Vassari and Condivi (writers of the lives of artists). In Florence at this time, there are strong ties to the ruling Medici family, and the Italian public was very distraught about the power that they held. Verrocchio and Leonardo were close friends of this family, and when the French invaded Italy, they were driven out of Florence and out of Milan. Some of the paintings from Verrocchio's workshop could have been destroyed. So, we must come back to the point that we simply do not know enough because of lack of true documentation...although there are paintings directly attributed to Verrocchio that we know of; such paintings as "Tobias and the Angel" and "Saint Monica". You also have to keep in mind that he was famous mainly for the artists who came out of his workshop, not for his actual work with paintings. He was a much greator sculptor than painter. I hope this helps.

Name: Noelle
Date: 2003-02-05
Comments: I heard a rumor from my professor today, 3/05/03, stating that when this painting was studied in the 80's/90's, testing showed that Leonardo's work on the angel was vitually undetectable because the chemical compositions that he used were so revolutionary. My professor said that of course the inability to date his portion of the painting pushed for a lot of myth around Leonardo, saying that it was as if he had supernatural powers helping him create the perfect oil compisition. Of course the supernatural part is a rumor but I was wondering if researchers really recieved blank results when tying to carbon date his portion of the image? Thanks, Art Student

Name: Unknown
Date: 2004-11-03
Comments: There's not only one painting that has survived to him.. I'm currently doin a research for my art's history class, and I'm studying a Verrochio painting named ' La Madone di Piazza'... It has been done by him and his workshop and it's in a cathedral in Pistoia. I found it in a book about renaissance painting.