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Overview

Lorenzo de' Medici, the brilliant, learned, and ruthless head of a wealthy banking family, ruled the Italian city-state of Florence in the Renaissance. This bust may copy a wax statue made to commemorate Lorenzo's survival in 1478, when an assassination plot took the life of his younger brother. The simple costume, with a distinctively Florentine padded and draped headdress, reflects Lorenzo's claim to be merely a respected citizen rather than a de facto prince. Cleaning in recent years (completed 2006) has brought out the original bright reds, warm flesh tones, and a light beard. The brooding face suggests the forceful intelligence behind Lorenzo's power. This haunting likeness may have been molded from his death mask.

Provenance

Alessandro Rivani [1746-c. 1832], Florence.[1] Carlo Ernesto Liverati [1805-1844], Florence, until c. 1835;[2] Rev. John Sanford [1777-1855], Florence and London;[3] sold c. 1841 to Edward Nicholls Dennys, London, until at least 1850.[4] Henry Labouchere, 1st baron Taunton [1798-1869], Stoke Park, Over-Stowey, Somersetshire, by 1862; by inheritance to his son-in-law, Edward James Stanley [1826-1907], Quantock Lodge, Bridgewater, Somersetshire; by inheritance to his son, Edward Arthur Vesey Stanley [1879-1941], Quantock Lodge;[5] (his sale, Sotheby's, London, 16 July 1920, no. 17);[6] probably purchased by (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris);[7] sold to Clarence H. Mackay [1874-1938], Roslyn, New York, by 1923;[8] his estate; sold 1940 through (Jacques Seligmann and Co., New York) to (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris);[9] purchased 1941 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York; gift 1943 to NGA.

Exhibition History

1850
Works of Ancient and Mediaeval Art, The House of the Society of Arts, London, 1850, no. 617, as Attributed to Michelangelo.
1862
Special Exhibition of Works of Art of the Mediaeval, Renaissance, and more recent periods, South Kensington Museum, London, 1862-1864, no. 1, as Florentine 15th Century.
1946
Recent Additions to the Kress Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1946, no. A-146.
2004
Verrocchio's David Restored: A Renaissance Bronze from the National Museum of the Bargello, Florence, National Museum of the Bargello, Florence; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2004, not in catalogue (shown only in Washington).
2013
Florenz!, Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn, 2013-2014, no. 109, repro.
2013
Nello splendore mediceo: Papa Leone X e Firenze, Museo delle Cappelle Mediceee, Florence, 2013, no. 8, repro.
2019
Verrocchio. Sculptor and Painter of Renaissance Florence. National Gallery of Art, 2019-2020, no. 22, repro.

Bibliography

1909
Trapesnikoff, Trifon. Die Porträtdarstellungen der Mediceer des XV Jahrhunderts. Strassburg, 1909: 49-50, repro.

1923
Sherman, Frederic F. "Italian Portrait Paintings and Busts of the Quattrocento." Art in America 12, n. 1 (December 1923): 5, repro.
1925
Valentiner, Wilhelm R. "The Clarence H. Mackay Collection." Art in America 13, no. 5 (1925): 250-251, fig.7.
1926
Valentiner, W.R. The Clarence H. Mackay Collection. New York, 1926: 6, 9-10, no. 14, repro.
1930
Westheim, Paul, ed. "Achtung, Falschkunst! Fälscher und Kenner." Das Kunstblatt 14 (July 1930): 204, repro.
1932
Warburg, Aby. Die Erneuerung der heidnischen Antike: kulturwissenschaftliche Beiträge zur Geschichte der europäischen Renaissance. 2 vols. Leipzig and Berlin, 1932:1:99, n. 2.
1935
Bertini, Aldo. "L'arte del Verrocchio." L'Arte 38 (November 1935): 462, n. 2.
1935
"Professor Volpi Publishes Verrocchio Work." Art News 33 (Saturday, June 1, 1935): 12, repro.
1935
Volpi, Elia. Lorenzo de' Medici: Busto in terracotta opera di Andrea del Verrocchio (1435-1488). Città di Castello, 1935: not paginated, repro.
1937
Cortissoz, Royal. An Introduction to the Mellon Collection. Boston, 1937: 23.
1944
Duveen Brothers, Inc. Duveen Sculpture in Public Collections of America: A Catalog Raisonné with illustrations of Italian Renaissance Sculptures by the Great Masters which have passed through the House of Duveen. New York, 1944: figs. 145-149.
1944
Frankfurter, Alfred M. "Another Great Kress Gift to the National Gallery." Art News 42 (November 1-14, 1944): not paginated.
1944
Frankfurter, Alfred M. The Kress Collection in the National Gallery. New York, 1944: 10, repro.
1945
Paintings and Sculpture from the Kress Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1945 (reprinted 1947, 1949): 186, repro.
1949
Seymour, Charles. Masterpieces of Sculpture from the National Gallery of Art. Washington and New York, 1949: 179, n. 36, repro. 117-119.
1955
Finley, David E. "Museum Director's Choice: From great art in public collections experts select their favorite works." Life (February 21, 1955): 94, repro.
1959
Paintings and Sculpture from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1959: 404, repro.
1961
Walker, John, Guy Emerson, and Charles Seymour. Art Treasures for America: An Anthology of Paintings & Sculpture in the Samuel H. Kress Collection. London, 1961: 45, fig. 39.
1965
Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 173.
1966
Covi, Dario. “Four new documents concerning Andrea del Verrocchio.” The Art Bulletin 48, n. 1 (March 1966): 101-103.
1968
National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 152, repro.
1969
Passavant, Günter. Verrocchio. Sculptures, Paintings and Drawings. Complete Edition. Translated from the German MS by Katherine Watson. London, 1969: no. 4.
1971
Seymour, Charles. The Sculpture of Verrocchio. Greenwich, CT, 1971: 127-128, no. 34, fig. 176.
1972
Covi, Dario. "Review of G. Passavant, Verrocchio, translated by Katherine Watson, 1969." Art Bulletin 54, no. 1 (March 1972): 131.
1974
Pope-Hennessy, John. "The Forging of Italian Renaissance Sculpture." Apollo 99 (April 1974): 258.
1976
Middeldorf, Ulrich. Sculptures from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: European Schools XIV-XIX Century. London, 1976: 79.
1976
Schuyler, Jane. Florentine Busts: Sculpted Portraiture in the Fifteenth Century. New York, 1976: 302, fig. 80.
1981
Langedijk, Karla. The Portraits of the Medici: 15th-18th Centuries. 3 vols. Florence, 1981-1987: 1(1981):27-30; 2(1983):1140, 1158-1162, no. 28, repro.
1982
Alsop, Joseph. The Rare Art Traditions: The History of Art Collecting and Its Linked Phenomena Wherever These Have Appeared. Bollingen series 35, no. 27. New York, 1982: fig. 77.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 631, no. 984, repro.
1988
Elam, Caroline. "Art and Diplomacy in Renaissance Florence: Delivered to the Society on Wednesday 25 May 1988, with Professor Nicolai Rubenstein, FBA, in the Chair." RSA Journal 136, n. 5387 (October 1988): 817, fig. 4.

1992
Bartlett, Kenneth R. The Civilization of the Italian Renaissance: A Sourcebook. Lexington, MA and Toronto, 1992: 257, repro.
1992
Darr, Alan Phipps. “Verrocchio’s Legacy: Observations Regarding His Influence on Pietro Torrigiani and Other Florentine Sculptors.” In Verrocchio and Late Quattrocento Italian Sculpture. Steven Bule, Alan Phipps Darr, and Fiorella Superbi Gioffredi. eds. (Acts of two conferences commemorating the fifth centenary of Verrocchio’s death. I. April 1988 at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah; II. June 1989 at the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno and the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies at Villa I Tatti, Florence). Florence, 1992:125-139, esp. 137.

1992
Fiero, Gloria K. On the Threshold of Modernity: The Renaissance and the Reformation. The Humanistic Tradition 3. 1st ed. [7th ed. 2015] Dubuque, Iowa, 1992: 25, fig. 16.1.
1992
National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 291, repro.
1992
Rolfi, Gianfranco, Ludovica Sebregondi, and Paolo Viti, eds. La chiesa e la città a Firenze nel XV secolo. Milan, 1992: 32, repro.
1992
Stapleford, Richard. The Age of Lorenzo de' Medici: Patronage and the Arts in Renaissance Florence. A Walking Tour of Italian Painting and Sculpture in the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1992: 5.
1993
Ferrazza, Roberta. Palazzo Davanzati e le collezioni di Elia Volpi. Florence, 1993: 133 fig. 135, 134, 143 n. 194.
1993
The American Heritage College Dictionary, 3rd ed., s.v. "Medici," repro. Boston, 1993.
1993
Toscani, Bernard, ed. Lorenzo de' Medici: New Perspectives. Proceedings of the International Conference Held at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, April 30- May 2, 1992. New York, 1993: not paginated, repro.

1993
Vasari, Giorgio. Giorgio Vasari Lives of the Artists: A Selection Translated by George Bull. Translated by George Bull. London, 1993: 39, repro.
1994
Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994: 232, repro.
1995
Feldman, Edmund Burke. The Artist: A Social History. 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, 1995: 89, repro.
1995
Walker, Paul Robert. The Italian Renaissance. New York, 1995: 30-32, repro.
1996
Butters, Suzanne B. The Triumph of Vulcan: Sculptors' Tools, Porphyry, and the Prince in Ducal Florence. Villa I Tatti / The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies 14. 2 vols. Florence, 1996: I:310, II:385.
1996
Grieder, Terence. Artist and Audience. New York, 1996: 388, fig. 12.1.
1996
Kobrin, David. Beyond the Textbook: Teaching History Using Documents and Primary Sources. Boston, 1996: 41, fig. 3-3.
1998
Warren, Jeremy. "A portrait bust of Lorenzo de' Medici in Oxford." The Sculpture Journal 2 (1998): 1-12.
1999
Mazzotta Prum, Deborah. Rats, Bulls, and Flying Machines: A History of the Renaissance and Reformation. Charlottesville, VA, 1999: 16, repro.
2000
Luchs, Alison. "Lorenzo from Life?: Renaissance Portrait Busts of Lorenzo de' Medici." The Sculpture Journal 4 (2000): 6-23, figs. 2, 6, 21, and 22.
2000
National Gallery of Art Special Issue. Connaissance des Arts. Paris, 2000: 59, 61, repro.
2003
Vogel, Carol. "Another Trip for 'David'." The New York Times (July 18, 2003).
2005
Covi, Dario. Andrea del Verrocchio, Life and Work. Florence, 2005: 133-134, fig. 119.
2005
DeAngelis, Adrienne. "On the Ashmolean bust of Lorenzo de' Medici." The Sculpture Journal 13 (2005): 5-17.
2005
Warren, Jeremy. "Forgery in Risorgimento Florence: Bastianini's 'Giovanni delle Bande Nere' in the Wallace Collection." The Burlington Magazine 147 (November 2005): 737, fig. 19.
2006
Budd, Denise M. "Leonardo, Medici Ephemera, and the Art of the Pazzi Conspiracy." In Watching Art: Writings in Honor of James Beck. Todi, 2006: 104.
2006
Dietsch, Deborah K. "Lorenzo's new clothes: Colors awakened from centuries of grit, grime." The Washington Times (Saturday, August 12, 2006): B1, B3, repro.
2006
"New Look for a Renaissance Icon." Sculpture Magazine 25, n. 10 (December 2006): 12.
2006
Vogel, Carol. "Lorenzo the Magnificent, Restored to Power." The New York Times (Friday, July 28, 2006).
2008
Utari, Ginevra. "Maestro Verrocchiesco, Busto di Lorenzo il Magnifico / Verrocchiesque Master, Bust of Lorenzo the Magnificent." In Tosti, Barbara, ed. Mugello culla del Rinascimento: Giotto, Beato Angelico, Donatello e i Medici. Exh. cat. Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, Florence, 2008: 236.
2013
Belman, Michael, Alison Luchs, and Shelley Sturman. “A Renaissance of Color: The Conservation of Lorenzo the Magnificent.” Facture: conservation, science, art history 1 (2013): 32-57, figs. 1, 2, 5, 13-22.
2013
Kohl, Jeanette. “Casting Renaissance Florence: the bust of Giovanni de’ Medici and indexical portraiture.” In Carvings, Casts & Collectors: The Art of Renaissance Sculpture. Peta Motture, Emma Jones and Dimitrios Zikos, eds. London, 2013: 58-71, esp. 62-63, 70, repro. 63.
2013
McHam, Sarah Blake. Pliny and the Artistic Culture of the Italian Renaissance:The Legacy of the Natural History. New Haven and London, 2013: 118-119, repro.
2017
Rudolph, Conrad, Amit Roy-Chowdhury, Ramya Srinivasan, and Jeanette Kohl. "FACES: Faces, Art, and Computerized Evaluation Systems -- A Feasibility Study of the Application of Face Recognition Technology to Works of Portrait Art." Artibus et historiae 39, no. 75 (2017): 265-291, esp. 272-273, repro. 273, 288-289.
2022
Gaffo, Fabio. "Lorenzo de'Medici's Bust in Berlin: (Dis)Order and (Mis)fortune of a Casting Tradition." Predella 24 (2021; published 2022), 73-92 and plates; repro. pl. LXXVII, fig. 3.
2023
Mancuso, Piergabriele, Alice S. Legé and Sefy Hendle. The Jews, The Medici, and the Ghetto of Florence. Exh. cat. Gallerie degli Uffizi, Florence, 2023: 176,

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