Antonio Pollaiuolo

Antonio del Pollaiuolo (d. 1498), literally 'of the chicken coop' (a nickname derived from his father's poultry business) A sculptor, painter and goldsmith whose fame rests on his brilliant, unmistakable line; he occasionally worked with his less gifted brother Piero.

Like many Florentine artists he trained as a goldsmith. Lorenzo Ghiberti was one of his teachers; Sandro Botticelli, an even greater master of the line, was one of his students.

Giorgio Vasari wrote:

He had a more modern grasp of the nude than the masters who preceded him, and he dissected many bodies to study their anatomy; and he was the first to demonstrate the method of searching out the muscles, in order that they might have their due form and place in his figures.