Attributed to Pietro Tacca (Italian, 1577–1640)
Bust of a Nobleman in Armor
INV-2227
Attributed to Pietro Tacca (Italian, 1577–1640)c. 1610
Bust of a Nobleman in Armor
Attributed to Pietro Tacca (Italian, 1577–1640) →17th Centurybust/headsculpture
Date
c. 1610
Medium
Marble
Dimensions
63.5 × 59.7 × 23.5 cm (25 × 23 1/2 × 9 1/4 in.); With socle: H.: 81.3 cm (32 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Tillie C. Cohn Endowment
This portrait bust of an unknown nobleman in armor, sporting the stiff ruff characteristic of men’s fashion in Europe in the first quarter of the 17th century, was once thought to portray the Genoese aristocrat Ambrogio Spinola or an anonymous naval officer. Previously attributed to the French Mannerist sculptor Germain Pilon (1535–1590), it currently bears an attribution to Pietro Tacca, court sculptor to the Medici grand dukes in the first half of the 17th century. However, the immediacy and supplely rendered flesh of this portrait suggest that it was executed by an artist associated with Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680), the most famous Italian sculptor of the period.
Also notable
Works in the same vein
