The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (427 page)
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Sánchez Cotán , Juan
(1560–1627).
Spanish painter. He was a still-life painter in Toledo until 1603, when he decided to become a monk, and in the following year he entered the Carthusian monastery at Granada as a lay-brother. The religious works he painted after this date are unexceptional, but as a still-life painter he ranks with the great names of European painting. Characteristically he depicts a few simple fruits or vegetables, arranged on a ledge or shelf with an almost geometric clarity and standing out against a dark background (
Quince, Cabbage, Melon, Cucumber
, San Diego Museum of Art, 1602). Each form is scrutinized with such intensity that the pictures take on a mystical quality, conveying a feeling of wonder and humility in front of the humblest items in God's creation. Sánchez Cotán's austere style had considerable influence on Spanish painting, notably on
Zurbarán
.
Spanish painter. He was a still-life painter in Toledo until 1603, when he decided to become a monk, and in the following year he entered the Carthusian monastery at Granada as a lay-brother. The religious works he painted after this date are unexceptional, but as a still-life painter he ranks with the great names of European painting. Characteristically he depicts a few simple fruits or vegetables, arranged on a ledge or shelf with an almost geometric clarity and standing out against a dark background (
Quince, Cabbage, Melon, Cucumber
, San Diego Museum of Art, 1602). Each form is scrutinized with such intensity that the pictures take on a mystical quality, conveying a feeling of wonder and humility in front of the humblest items in God's creation. Sánchez Cotán's austere style had considerable influence on Spanish painting, notably on
Zurbarán
.
Sandby , Paul
(1730/1–1809).
English topographical watercolourist and graphic artist. He and his brother
Thomas
(1721–98) trained at the Military Drawing Office of the Tower of London and were engaged as draughtsmen on the survey of the Highlands of Scotland after the rebellion of 1745. In 1751 Paul went to live with his brother at Windsor Park, where Thomas held the position of Deputy Ranger (they did many views of Windsor and its environs, and the Royal Library at Windsor Castle has an outstanding Sandby collection). Their work is similar in many respects, but Paul was more versatile as well as a better artist, his work including lively figure subjects as well as an extensive range of landscape subjects. In his later work he often used
body-colour
(he also sometimes painted in oils) and he was the first professional artist in England to publish
aquatints
(1775). He was singled out by
Gainsborough
as the only contemporary English landscape artist who painted ‘real views from nature’ instead of artificial
Picturesque
compositions. Sandby has rather unjustifiably been called ‘the father of watercolour art’, but certainly his distinction won prestige for the medium. He was a founder member of the
Royal Academy
and his brother was its first Professor of Architecture.
English topographical watercolourist and graphic artist. He and his brother
Thomas
(1721–98) trained at the Military Drawing Office of the Tower of London and were engaged as draughtsmen on the survey of the Highlands of Scotland after the rebellion of 1745. In 1751 Paul went to live with his brother at Windsor Park, where Thomas held the position of Deputy Ranger (they did many views of Windsor and its environs, and the Royal Library at Windsor Castle has an outstanding Sandby collection). Their work is similar in many respects, but Paul was more versatile as well as a better artist, his work including lively figure subjects as well as an extensive range of landscape subjects. In his later work he often used
body-colour
(he also sometimes painted in oils) and he was the first professional artist in England to publish
aquatints
(1775). He was singled out by
Gainsborough
as the only contemporary English landscape artist who painted ‘real views from nature’ instead of artificial
Picturesque
compositions. Sandby has rather unjustifiably been called ‘the father of watercolour art’, but certainly his distinction won prestige for the medium. He was a founder member of the
Royal Academy
and his brother was its first Professor of Architecture.
Sandrart , Joachim von
(1606–88).
German painter, engraver, and writer on art. He travelled widely and was the most highly regarded German artist of his day (he was ennobled in 1653), but he is now remembered almost exclusively for his treatise
Teutsche Academie der Edlen Bau-, Bild- und Mahlerey-Künste
(German Academy of the Noble Arts of Architecture, Sculpture and Painting), published in Nuremberg in 1675–9 (a Latin edition followed in 1683). This treatise, organized into three main parts, is a source-book of major importance. The first part is an introduction to the arts of architecture, painting, and sculpture put together largely from material taken from earlier sources such as
Vasari
and van
Mander
. The second part, consisting of biographies of artists, likewise contains much material borrowed from previous writers but also much that is original, in particular about German artists (it was Sandrart who was the first to use the name
Grünewald
) and on contemporary artists that the author knew personally. The third part contains information about art collections and a study of
iconography
, and remarkably Sandrart also included in his book a chapter on Far Eastern art. Sandrart was the first director (1662) of the Academy at Nuremberg (the earliest such in Germany).
German painter, engraver, and writer on art. He travelled widely and was the most highly regarded German artist of his day (he was ennobled in 1653), but he is now remembered almost exclusively for his treatise
Teutsche Academie der Edlen Bau-, Bild- und Mahlerey-Künste
(German Academy of the Noble Arts of Architecture, Sculpture and Painting), published in Nuremberg in 1675–9 (a Latin edition followed in 1683). This treatise, organized into three main parts, is a source-book of major importance. The first part is an introduction to the arts of architecture, painting, and sculpture put together largely from material taken from earlier sources such as
Vasari
and van
Mander
. The second part, consisting of biographies of artists, likewise contains much material borrowed from previous writers but also much that is original, in particular about German artists (it was Sandrart who was the first to use the name
Grünewald
) and on contemporary artists that the author knew personally. The third part contains information about art collections and a study of
iconography
, and remarkably Sandrart also included in his book a chapter on Far Eastern art. Sandrart was the first director (1662) of the Academy at Nuremberg (the earliest such in Germany).
sanguine
.
.
Sansovino , Andrea
(
c.
1467/70–1529).
Italian sculptor and architect, named after his birthplace near Monte San Savino, his real name being Contucci. He called himself a Florentine, but although Florence contains much of his sculpture his fame rests on what he did elsewhere, notably in Rome, where the companion tombs of Cardinals Sforza and Basso (Sta Maria del Popolo, between 1505 and 1509) and the group of
The Virgin and Child with St Anne
(S. Agostino, 1512) display classical grace combined with human tenderness. Sansovino spent much of the period 1513–27 in Loreto in charge of the sculpture (and for part of the time the architecture also) of the shrine of the Holy House, originally designed by
Bramante
.
Vasari
says that Andrea also worked in Portugal, but his statement is doubted by some scholars. Jacopo
Sansovino
was Andrea's main pupil.
c.
1467/70–1529).
Italian sculptor and architect, named after his birthplace near Monte San Savino, his real name being Contucci. He called himself a Florentine, but although Florence contains much of his sculpture his fame rests on what he did elsewhere, notably in Rome, where the companion tombs of Cardinals Sforza and Basso (Sta Maria del Popolo, between 1505 and 1509) and the group of
The Virgin and Child with St Anne
(S. Agostino, 1512) display classical grace combined with human tenderness. Sansovino spent much of the period 1513–27 in Loreto in charge of the sculpture (and for part of the time the architecture also) of the shrine of the Holy House, originally designed by
Bramante
.
Vasari
says that Andrea also worked in Portugal, but his statement is doubted by some scholars. Jacopo
Sansovino
was Andrea's main pupil.
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