Gasparo Cairano, also known as Gasparo da Cairano, de Cayrano, da Milano, Coirano,This variant is not present in historical sources and was introduced in 1963 by Adriano Peroni (see Peroni, pp. 619–887), and accepted as canonical by later researchers (see Zani 2010, p.102, note 85) and other variations (born Milan or Pieve del Cairo or Cairate,See note in Boselli, p. 289, regarding a Brescian document of March 1531, where a mention is made of Gasparo's firstborn as Simone q. Gasparis de Chayrate de Mediolano before 1489Since the first document attesting the existence of the artist is the payment for a work in 1489, the date of birth may be traced back at least two decades before. – Brescia, died before 1517),Declared dead in this year by his widow Bianca (see Zani 2010, p. 102, note 85) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor.
The artist emerged in 1489 as part of the cultural world of Milan, beginning a successful career that turned him into a leading exponent of Renaissance sculpture in Brescia, distinguishing himself with works of cultural import such as his cycle of the Caesars for the Loggia palace in Brescia, as well as the Mausoleum of Martinengo. He introduced a powerful and highly expressive classical taste, as opposed to the hitherto existing refined decorativeness. During the first decade of the sixteenth century, Gasparo was able to win over public and private clients who sought to translate into stone their pride in their supposed historical descent from ancient Rome.
After his death, Gasparo's reputation fell into oblivion caused by unfavourable secular criticism. His complex artistic personality and catalog of works were only reconstructed from the end of the twentieth century, thanks to targeted critical studies that have for the first time allowed a thorough analysis and rediscovery of his works.
Biography
Nothing is known of Gasparo Cairano before 1489. No information has been found about the date and place of his birth, education, or the circumstances that led him to Brescia. The appellation da Milano, with which he is often recalled in the sources, however, does not provide a definitive fact of his origin because it could refer to the city as well as to the dukedom or diocese. The generic reference, in any case, is compatible with the cultural basis of his artistic work. Some conjectures can be made on the surname Cairano, in particular that it leads one to Cairate in Varese province, which is to this day shortened to Caira in the local dialect.Historical sources provide other variations of the last name of Gasparo. See Zani 2010, p. 102, n. 85 and notes in the preamble to this article.
Career The Santa Maria dei Miracoli Cairano first documented work is from 24 December 1489Archivio Storico di Santa Maria dei Miracoli, cart. A, fasc. 3 with his commission for the cycle of twelve statues of the Apostles to be installed in the first dome of the church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, Brescia. The installation of Cairano's cycle is contemporaneous with Tamagnino's installation of the twelve angels in the lower section of the dome.
In general, all the stone sculptures at the Santa Maria dei Miracoli laid down in the decade following the cycle of the Apostles were limited to the interior of the building, and were by Cairano and his associates. There is a possibility that this limitation was the result of a confrontation between Cairano and Tamagnino. At the time Cairano worked on his Apostles, Tamagnino was the better regarded sculptor, and his superiority is evident in the artistic and technical quality of his Angels, if only for their relative modernity, following the neo-classical mode of Antonio Rizzo. It is likely, therefore, that there was some local support that allowed Cairano to penetrate Tamagnino's stronghold in Brescia, despite the former's relative underdevelopment as an artist. On the other hand, Tamagnino only created five other works within the church, and he was paid for the entire body of his work less than Cairano for his Apostles. Following this debacle, Tamagnino left the site of the church and Brescia, and only returned a decade later.See the paragraph below on Relations with Tamagnino
The keystones of the old Duomo Cairano's art and career began a rapid ascent following several other commissions for work within the sanctum of the Santa Maria dei Miracoli. On 16 November 1941, he was paid for two keystones for the vault of the old Duomo which was being built under the aegis of Bernardino da Martinengo. Cairano was given the sole commission for figurative sculptures in the new building. Two years later, in 1493, Cairano began work at the courtyard of the Loggia palazzo.
Evidently there was a burst in overlapping commitments and commission, both public and ecclesiastical, many of which were more important than his debut work at the Santa Maria dei Miracoli. Indeed, work in that church stopped around the same time. The sculptor returned to it only for occasional work over the following years to the end of the century;Ceriana, pp. 146, 148–149. It is also reminiscent of the San Gregorio medallion in the spandrels of the dome, part of the cycle of Doctors of the Church left unfinished by Tamagnino and also dated to about 1495–1500. For the dating of this work see Zani 2010, p. 121. overall, however, work ceased until the mid-sixteenth century.
Sculptures of the Palazzo della Loggia
On 30 August 1493, Cairano was tasked with the decoration of the exterior of the Palazzo della Loggia with the delivery of capita 5 imperatorum romanum, or five busts for the beginning of a cycle of thirty Caesars, which would become among the finest achievements of his career. The production of these busts can be traced, in general, to a contemporary reworking of ancient portraiture. In the oldest busts, i.e., those facing the piazza, there are similarities with the image of Bartolomeo Colleoni in the memorial by Andrea del Verrocchio in Venice, with an evoking of an effigy of Antoninus Pius and a portrait of Nero, all famous images at the time and here revived in three dimensions.
A considerable leap in quality is evident here, compared to the Apostles of the church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli that had been carved just a few years earlier. The cycle of the Caesars is not only considerably grander in size but also a notable qualitative improvement over the previous production. The presence of these Caesars on the façade of the Loggia in Brescia is testament of an architectural and figurative leap, a full expression of classical art that has climbed from the earlier experiments at the Miracoli. Cairano, through the creation of the cycle and subsequent architectural ornamentation of the Loggia palazzo, becomes the fulcrum of commissions, both public and private, from Brescians keen to show off their descent from ancient Rome and to ride the wave of the local Renaissance.
Around 1497, while continuing with his work on the Caesars, Cairano also developed five keystones for the portico of the Loggia palazzo, representing Sant'Apollonio, San Faustino, San Giovita, Justice and Faith. Between 1499 and 1500, he delivered two large trophies to be placed on the top order of palazzo, while between 1493 and 1505, Cairano participated in the fulfilment of leonine protome, capitals, and candelabras and friezes for the same top order. The attention of the artist to his craft and productions is evident, and it influenced in general all the decorative sculptural works made for the palazzo at the time.
Cairano's concentration on the Caesars is interrupted only briefly by the return of Tamagnino between 1499 and 1500. Tamagnino, likely based on his lauded works at the Certosa di Pavia, receives a commission for six different Caesars and other sculptures. But in an art scene increasingly monopolised by Cairano, who has come a long way from his naive expression of the Apostles, Tamagnino does not garner much attention, and, humiliated by the cold reception, he leaves Brescia, probably never to return.
The private commissions of Brunelli and Caprioli
Having gained prestige from the constructions in the Loggia, Cairano received at least two commissions from the nobility of Brescia. Involved in the leadership of the new administration, they were certainly aware of his ability. There are papers dating back to 1496 that document Cairano's commission for the Tomb of Gaspare Brunelli, which, in 1500, was placed in the Brunelli chapel within the Church of St Francis. During the same period, the Caprioli family commissioned the tomb of Luigi Caprioli to be placed within their chapel in the church of San Giorgio, probably together with other sculptures, made probably in collaboration with the Sanmicheli workshop, to which is attributed the marble jamb decorated with candelabras.
Caprioli's memorial was broken up in the nineteenth century,Possibly in 1805, even before the church was condemned. See Zani 2010, p. 117. so only the Caprioli Adoration remains. A masterpiece of Cairano's, this was placed in 1841 by Rodolfo Vantini on the high altar of the St Francis of Assisi church. Cairano demonstrates a high technical mastery, not only in the extremely precise orientation of the boxes, but also in the choice of the monolithic block, which, in fact, is not strictly necessary for this kind of work. From Bernardino Faino and Francesco Paglia and other seventeenth and eighteenth century scholars, we know that the relief was placed by some architectural system. It was supposed to be a figurative piece, created perhaps by the same artist, but which has not been traced.
The sculptures of San Pietro in Oliveto and San Francesco
In 1503, Cairano made the last deliveries in the Caesar cycle for the front of the Loggia palace, and finished up the bulk of his work on the site; no further records of his presence exist.The production of generic decorative scores continued for a few more years, until the interruption of the work for reasons of war, but not necessarily under the guidance of Gasparo, though could still visit the site often to follow this final phase. See Zani 2010, p. 107. For the artist, this was the end of his big public commissions, which he probably gained before establishing his career and subsequent success. He now had to reorganise his business and set up closer ties with the contacts he made during his work at the Loggia, including co-workers and other artists in and around Brescia, looking for major commissions. However, his path appeared to lead him increasingly toward sacred art. In 1504, the canon of the Basilica of San Pietro de Dom, Francisco Franzi of Orzinuovi bequeathed the construction of a chapel in the cathedral. Nothing further is known of this commission.Archivio del Duomo di Brescia, Pergamene, n. 239.
By 1507, however, Cairano's decorative lapidary work in the interior of the San Pietro in Oliveto became known as the third great achievement of the artist, after the Miracoli and the Loggia.The date MDVII is legible on the arch of the choir The architectural scores that punctuate the sequence of the altar and the composition of the whole, however, are unrelated to Cairano's style. Rather, they are consistent with Sanmicheli, who indeed possessed the only workshop in town capable of engaging a work of this magnitude. Certainly the twelve Apostles in the spandrels in the arches of the nave are Cairano's work – the artist's hand is unmistakable. There is very poor and fragmentary documentation relating to this historic building that has come down to us.