Biography

Antonio da Sangallo (real name Antonio Cordiani), Italian architect, member of a family of architects (two brothers and their nephew: his uncles Antonio da Sangallo the Elder and Giuliano da Sangallo were architects). Trained by his uncles, he joined the family design, engineering and sculpture business. In 1503 he accompanied Giuliano to Rome where he remained and enjoyed the patronage of several popes.

He was the most influential architect of his time. He arrived in Rome when he was about 20 and built a town house for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese in 1513, and when the Cardinal became Pope Paul III, he had Antonio the Younger enlarge it into the most important palace in Rome, the Palazzo Farnese (1534-46). Sangallo succeeded Raphael as master of works on St. Peter's Basilica in 1520, although his complex plan for its completion was not accepted. At the Vatican he designed the Sala Regia and the Pauline Chapel. The efficient infrastructure of the Sangallo business allowed him to take on commissions for a large number of clients while he continued to devote a large portion of his energies on St. Peter's.

Although Sangallo was often viewed as more of a builder and engineer than an artist, he resisted the "mannerism" with which so many of his contemporaries attempted to emulate Michelangelo. He developed a severe, logical, and weighty style.