Stonecutters, Sculptors, and Architects in Bologna: Domenico Aimo da Varignana and the Montmorency Monument

In 1530 sculptor and architect Domenico Aimo da Varignana (1470 ca.-1539) designed and executed the funerary monument of Joseph de Montmorency (1497-1529) in Bologna. Largely overlooked by scholars, the preparatory drawing for the Montmorency monument reveals Aimo's skills as a draughtsman. More importantly, on the back of this drawing Aimo put down in writing the general terms of the contract for the monument's execution. Aimo's handwriting provides conclusive evidence for the authorship of the so-called Mellon Codex, an architectural sketchbook preserved at the Morgan Library and Museum, New York. Unpublished archival documents related to Aimo's activity in Bologna further elucidate his relationship with sculptors and architects.