Italian, Florence, second half 15th century

with Heim Gallery Ltd., London, 1972

London, Heim Gallery Ltd., Sculptures of the 15th & 16th Centuries. Summer Exhibition 1972, 1972, no. 10

The Burlington Magazine, vol. 114, no. 834, September 1972

There is dirt, wear and weathering to the surface consistent with age and placement outside. Some of the carving of the costume remains. There are some chips to the edges and corners. There are losses to the upper back and to the back of the base at the centre. The nose was reattached. There are losses to both ears. There is veining consistent with material, including dark veining around the neck and lower face, which spreads up the proper right side of the face to the top of the hat. Otherwise the condition is good.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Sculpted portraits became increasingly fashionable in Florence from the 1450's onwards. They had become so popular by the end of the century that Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) noted that there could be 'seen in every house in Florence, over the chimney-pieces, doors, windows and cornices, infinite numbers of [sculpted] portraits, so well made and so natural that they appear alive' (quoted in Butterfield, op. cit. p. 213). This phenomenon had arisen through the success of portrait busts created for the Medici and their circle, and it spread rapidly through Florentine and, eventually, wider Italian society. Portraits of living persons were justified by the belief that representations of virtuous individuals could have a didactic function by serving as moral role models. Under these circumstances, the art of portraiture flourished, with artists including Mino da Fiesole (1429-1484), Benedetto da Maiano (1442-1497) and Antonio Rossellino (1427/8-79) sculpting some of the most striking portraits ever created.

The present bust owes much to the work of each of these sculptors. The fine carving of the sumptuous pattern adorning the sitter's doublet, recalls the emphasis on the expensive fabric worn by Pietro Mellini in his portrait bust sculpted by Benedetto da Maiano in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence (Carl, op. cit., pl. 70). The focus on textiles is seen in other Florentine busts, including Mino da Fiesole's portrait of Niccolò Strozzi in the Bode Museum, Berlin (Butterfield, op. cit., p. 220). The characterful hat worn by the sitter is a typical form of 15th-century headdress, similar hats can be seen in numerous contemporary painted portraits, including in Benozzo Gozzoli's (c. 1421-1497) 1459-61 fresci for the Magi Chapel of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, Florence, and in Antonello da Messina's 1475-6 Portait of a Man in the National Gallery, London (inv. no. NG1141).

RELATED LITERATURE
D. Carl, Benedetto da Maiano. A Florentine Sculptor at the Threshold of the High Renaissance, Regensburg, 2006, vol ii, pp. 92-93, pls. 70-1; A. Butterfield, 'The Rebirth of the Sculpted Portrait in 15th-Century Florence,' B. Paolozzi Strozzi and M. Bormand (eds.), The Springtime of the Renaissance. Sculpture and the Arts in Florence 1400-60, exh. cat. Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, and Musée du Louvre, Paris, Florence, 2013, pp. 212-221