Francesco da Sangallo

His father took him at the age of ten to Rome where, in 1506, he was present at the identification of the Laocoön group, an event he described in a letter written in 1567, towards the end of his life.

The earliest dated sculpture attributed to him is the "Virgin and Child with St. Anne" in Orsanmichele, Florence.

Sangallo was active in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome around 1542 and became Capomaestro and architect of the Duomo in Florence the following year.

Other works include the effigy of Bishop Leonardo Bonafede, which lies on the pavement of the church of the Certosa near Florence, and the group of the Virgin and Child and St Anne, executed in 1526 for the altar of Orsanmichele.

[1] He was named a member (Accademico) of the prestigious Accademia delle Arti del Disegno of Florence, founded by Cosimo I de' Medici in 1563.