Bust of a Nobleman in Armor

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

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.

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