The city on the Tiber under the patronage of Pope Julius II (1503-1513) experienced, at the beginning of the XVI century, a true artistic eruption. The new St. Peter’s Basilica was crated, as well as  decorations of the Apostolic Palace, vault of the Sistine Chapel, while the cardinals who imitated the pope surrounded themselves with ancient sculptures and ordered their chambers to be decorated with frescoes. In this place, where fascinations with art and antiquity intertwined along with ambition, there was also no lack of perhaps the most important works – tombstone monuments, which were to commemorate the name and the work of the deceased for ages. Julius II clearly had a weakness for them. He had just commissioned Michelangelo to complete his tomb (Michelangelo’s Moses) – a monument, exceeding all structures of this time that had been created in Rome (and not only there), and now he intended to appropriately commemorate two deceased. One of them was his relative, Cardinal Girolamo Basso della Rovere, thanks to whose support Giuliano became pope, the other… his adversary. And while erecting a monument for a dignitary from one’s own family should come as no surprise, commissioning a monument, of which the cost – let us add – was exorbitant, for Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, should at least be somewhat strange. The cardinal, from the ruling in Milan, Sforza family, was a true man of the world, with whom Julius II maintained a difficult, marked with disappointment friendship. This is confirmed by the dedication found on the tombstone: “For Antonio Maria Sforza, who exhibited sensibility in happiness and the greatest courage in misfortune, from Julius II Pontifex Maximus, mindful of his memory and virtuously forgetful of his controversies”. In the difficult for the pope time, when the French, desired to rule over Milan, this was a clear signal, that Julius II recognized the sovereignty of the Sforzas over the duchy. The then ruler of Milan, Lodovico Sforza, was Ascanio’s brother, and the pope needed the Sforzas for his anti-French policy.

Today, nobody remembers the ambitions and animosities prevalent on the papal court, while the works created at that time are a testimony of the great talent and innovation of their creator. Here, on the aforementioned tombstones, Andrea Sansovino, for the first time proposed a new pose for the body, preserved in the sculpture of the deceased – he is not stiffly straight, as was the case until now, but seems to be resting. With bent knees, an inclined, as if resting on the palm head, the portrayed cardinals seem to be taking a short nap. If that is not enough, it seems as if they are about to awaken from their slumber and come down from the monument. Such a pose should come as no surprise in the fashionable at the time Neoplatonist philosophy, in which the moment of death is treated as a moment of sleep, a short interval, which is followed by eternal life. In this way Sansovino, relates to the well-known, however, forgotten Etruscan sarcophaguses, to antique tradition and ancient philosophy, and only a step separates him from antique visions, in which the deceased seem to be taking part in farewell banquets.  However, the ones created by Sansovino are not feasting, but they are resting after the difficulties of life, surrounded by personifications which glorify their deeds. On the tombstone of della Rovere we will see Justice and Sensibility (in the niches), with Faith and Hope above. In Sforza’s tomb, on the other hand, Courage and Prudence (in the niches), while above once again Faith and Hope. Of course there had to be room for elements from the glossary of ancient art, for which the then artists exhibited a far reaching weakness – columns, arches, niches filled with the motif of a shell, but also the grotesquery and trayles, which after the discovery of Nero’s palace (Domus Aurea), became an important decorative element of the then art. A new quality in all this, is the artist’s signature, engraved in the central part of both the tombs, an artist who was conscious of his role and the quality of his work. That is definitely the case, as in the newly planned by Donato Bramante presbytery of the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo, both the tombs looked exceptional, arousing universal recognition.

In the Eternal City, the artist also left behind a few other sculptures, mainly devoted to the Madonna, but one is worthy of particular attention – this is the group of the Virgin Mary with Child accompanied by St. Anne, in the Basilica of Sant’Agostino. This motif, quite common in art of the Renaissance period, was presented here by Sansovino in order to compose a cozy scene, full of warmth.

The most outstanding from among many of the artist’s students was Jacopo Sansovino. He even took on the master’s nickname, although he was not related to him.

The great impact of the art of Andrea Sansovino can be strongly felt not only in Italy, but also north of the Alps. One of the greatest examples of such “sleeping” deceased can be found in Cracow in the Chapel of Sigismund in the cathedral on the Wawel. When visiting this extraordinary place, each Polish child hears of Sansovino’s pose at least once in his life.

Roman works and designs of the sculptor:

•       Tombstone of Cardinal Pietro da Vicenza, 1504 – Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli
•       Madonna with Child, 1504 in the abutment of the façade of the Church of Santa Maria dell’Anima
•       Tombstone of Cardinal Girolamo Basso della Rovere (1508) and Ascanio Sforza (1509) – Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo
•         The Anne group, 1512 – Basilica of Sant’Agostino
•       Madonna with Child in the portal of the Church of Santa Maria Portae Paradisi
•     The Virgin and Child with the Blessed House of Loreto in the tympanum of the Church of Santa Maria di Loreto
•       Design of the façade along with portico in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Domnica (1513) and adaptation of an ancient boat (as a fountain) in front of the enterance