13 Inches High x 10 Inches Wide x 10 Inches Deep
The head from the bust of Niccolò da Uzzano. Niccolò da Uzzano (1359-1431) was a Florentine politician who opposed the Medici family. He was the nominal head of the oligarchs in the Republican government and was also elected Gonfaloniere of Justice, or the head of state. The original bust is polychromed terracotta and it underwent restoration in 1985. The modeling of the face was based on a death mask of Niccolò da Uzzano and then reworked, such as opening the eyes. It is the earliest known example of the 15th century that incorporates a mask into a bust. It is also thought to be the first portrait since Classical antiquity that was made as an independent artwork. Long said to be by Donatello, art historians continue to debate the attribution of this piece; it may have been created by Desiderio da Settignano as well.
Artist: Donatello, or Desiderio da Settignano
Museum: Bargello National Museum, Florence
Origin: Palazzo Capponi, Florence, Italy
Time Period: Renaissance, 1430s or 1450s
1911 Catalog ID # – 5186
Sources:
Arkles, Jason. “Desiderio da Settignano.” The Sculptor’s Funeral (podcast), episode 46, 13 Dec. 2015. http:///episodes/?offset=1455944400000.
“Bust of Niccolò da Uzzano.” Web Gallery of Art, http:///books?id=qEsrDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.
Hagele, Hannelore. Colour in Sculpture: A Survey from Ancient Mesopotamia to the Present. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013. Pp. 211. GoogleBooks, https://books.google.com/books?id=_NYwBwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.