Description
Marble bas-relief depicting the right profile of Galéas Marie Sforza (1444-1476), in a molded frame. Dressed in a pourpoint with a collar highlighted by a beaded ribbon, the Duke of Milan has an aquiline profile, a heavy chin and medium-length hair with very slightly wavy locks. Inscription GA[LEAZZO] M[ARIA]. Lombardy, circa 1460/70 H. 36 cm - L. 24 cm Lead fastener on reverse (small accidents and missing edges, broken and glued back together, especially at the neck). Galeazzo Maria Sforza, fifth Duke of Milan and brother of Ludovico il Moro, is reputed to have been a tyrannical, depraved, perverse prince of patronage and uninspired governance. He was assassinated at the age of 32, on Boxing Day 1476, the victim of a conspiracy by three officers of the Milan court, including a Visconti, a family allied to his own. Two marble tondi in French public collections depict his portrait with its characteristic profile, one in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon and the other in the Musée du Louvre (inv. RF 1631, fig.). Both date from the end of the 15th century, and show an image of an older duke, probably corresponding to that shortly before his death, unlike the latter where he is depicted as a young man. More stylized in style, this profile is surprising in its precision, highlighting without complacency the particular features of this character, his busted nose spilling over the frame. Book consulted : - G. Bresc-Bautier sous la dir. de, Les sculptures européennes du musée du Louvre, Paris, 2006, p. 241
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Marble bas-relief depicting the right profile of Galéas Marie Sforza (1444-1476), in a molded frame. Dressed in a pourpoint with a collar highlighted by a beaded ribbon, the Duke of Milan has an aquiline profile, a heavy chin and medium-length hair with very slightly wavy locks. Inscription GA[LEAZZO] M[ARIA]. Lombardy, circa 1460/70 H. 36 cm - L. 24 cm Lead fastener on reverse (small accidents and missing edges, broken and glued back together, especially at the neck). Galeazzo Maria Sforza, fifth Duke of Milan and brother of Ludovico il Moro, is reputed to have been a tyrannical, depraved, perverse prince of patronage and uninspired governance. He was assassinated at the age of 32, on Boxing Day 1476, the victim of a conspiracy by three officers of the Milan court, including a Visconti, a family allied to his own. Two marble tondi in French public collections depict his portrait with its characteristic profile, one in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon and the other in the Musée du Louvre (inv. RF 1631, fig.). Both date from the end of the 15th century, and show an image of an older duke, probably corresponding to that shortly before his death, unlike the latter where he is depicted as a young man. More stylized in style, this profile is surprising in its precision, highlighting without complacency the particular features of this character, his busted nose spilling over the frame. Book consulted : - G. Bresc-Bautier sous la dir. de, Les sculptures européennes du musée du Louvre, Paris, 2006, p. 241
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