Cristoforo Solari

Born c. 1460, probably in Angera, on Lake Maggiore; died 1527, in Milan.

Sculptor. Religious subjects.

The father of Paolo Emilio and brother of Andrea Solari, Cristoforo Solari was both a sculptor and an architect. In 1490 he made figures of Eve and St George for the Carità in Venice. Between 1497 and 1499, he carved the effigies for the tombs of Ludovico il Moro and Beatrice d'Este. Appointed sculptor for Milan Cathedral, he made statues of Adam and Eve for the exterior in 1502.

As an architect he worked mainly in Milan where he built the cupola of S Maria della Passione and the church of S Maria della Fontana. He also completed the church of S Ambrogio begun by Bramante

"SOLARI, Cristoforo da." In Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Oxford Art Online, http://www.oxfordartonline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/benezit/B00171720 (accessed April 12, 2012).