An Italian terracotta bust of Christ as the Man of Sorrows, attributed to the workshop of Agostino de Fondulis (circa 1450-1522), late 15th/early 16th century, Lombardy

Surface abrasions and losses to paint. Chipping throughout. Aperture at top of head with restoration surrounding it. Restorations throughout including both shoulders. Fill underneath to stabilize proper right shoulder and back area. Fill and restoration to proper right side of beard and proper left point of beard below chin. Restoration and fill to back.
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This miniature bust relates to two near life-sized painted terracotta busts of Christ as the Man of Sorrows, one in the Fondazione Cavallini Sgarbi in Ferrara (Sgarbi 2006, p.100-101), and another previously in the collection of Arthur M. Sackler, New York, sold in these rooms January 29, 2010, lot 420 (Avery 1981, no. 1).  Although previously associated with the circle of Guido Mazzoni (active 1473-1518), these distinctive busts bear strongest similarities with the monumental works of the Lombard sculptor Agostino de Fondulis (circa 1450-1522), such as his Pietà group for the church of Santa Maria presso San Satiro in Milan.  The naturalism and pathos of this powerful bust, made for private veneration, are reminiscent of the strikingly innovative work of Fondoulis's Northern Italian contemporaries such as Niccolò dell'Arca and Andrea Mantegna.

RELATED LITERATURE

Charles Avery, Fingerprints of the Artist: European terracotta sculpture from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington, D.C., 1981, no. 1
Vittorio Sgarbi, La scultura al tempo di Andrea Mantegna, Verona, 2006, pp. 100-101