Niccolo Sirigatti
Bust
1576 (dated)
1576 (dated)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Florentine men were known for the relative sobriety of their dress. Here the artist’s father wears a sleeveless overcoat atop his coat. The brocade of the undercoat is a variation of the pomegranite pattern worn by his wife. The delicate whorls on the buttons are meant to indicate that they are made of metal.
In his own day Ridolfo Sirigatti (active ca. 1570-1600) seems to have been regarded as a sculptor of considerable eminence. The son of a rich textile merchant and of Cassandra, daughter of the painter Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, Ridolfo continued his father's mercantile activity and brought fame to his family by becoming one of the Knights of Santo Stefano (the order instituted by Grand-Duke Cosimo I de' Medici) in 1581.
This bust is a rare example of Ridolfo Sirigatti's activity as a sculptor. Together with its companion piece, depicting Cassandra Sirigatti (A.13-1961), it shows high technical skill and an unusual and original style in comparison with Florentine contemporary sculpture. The peculiar disposition of the shoulders in both busts, with the right one pulled slightly back from the rest of the figure, and the left pushed slightly forward, shows the artist's intention to give an impression of movement.
In his own day Ridolfo Sirigatti (active ca. 1570-1600) seems to have been regarded as a sculptor of considerable eminence. The son of a rich textile merchant and of Cassandra, daughter of the painter Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, Ridolfo continued his father's mercantile activity and brought fame to his family by becoming one of the Knights of Santo Stefano (the order instituted by Grand-Duke Cosimo I de' Medici) in 1581.
This bust is a rare example of Ridolfo Sirigatti's activity as a sculptor. Together with its companion piece, depicting Cassandra Sirigatti (A.13-1961), it shows high technical skill and an unusual and original style in comparison with Florentine contemporary sculpture. The peculiar disposition of the shoulders in both busts, with the right one pulled slightly back from the rest of the figure, and the left pushed slightly forward, shows the artist's intention to give an impression of movement.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Niccolo Sirigatti (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Carved marble |
Brief description | Bust, marble, of Niccolo Sirigatti, by Ridolfo Sirigatti, Florence, Italy, dated 1576 |
Physical description | Bust of a man, cut below the chest, on a circular, moulded, pink and brown veined white marble socle. The head is bearded and shown looking to one side, the body clothed in a buttoned jacket and robe. |
Dimensions |
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Marks and inscriptions |
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Gallery label |
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Object history | Bought together with A.13-1961, from A. & C. Canessa, Rome, for £1502. Historical significance: This bust is a rare example of Ridolfo Sirigatti's activity as a sculptor. Together with its companion piece, depicting Cassandra Sirigatti (A.13-1961), it shows high technical skill and an unusual and original style in comparison with Florentine contemporary sculpture. The peculiar disposition of the shoulders in both busts, with the right one pulled slightly back from the rest of the figure, and the left pushed slightly forward, shows the artist's intention to give an impression of movement. The technical virtuosity, visible especially in the draping of the fabric, foreshadows the taste of seventeenth century Roman sculpture. It is possible to identify some elements that would appear in the sculptures by Pietro Bernini, who received his first artistic training from Ridolfo Sirigatti. It is exceptional in structure, the sitter's right shoulder is retracted and his left shoulder is advanced, while his head is turned slightly to his left, so that the bust has the spiral character of Giambologna's marble groups. |
Historical context | In his own day Ridolfo Sirigatti seems to have been regarded as a sculptor of considerable eminence. The son of a rich textile merchant and of Cassandra, daughter of the painter Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, Ridolfo continued his father's mercantile activity and brought fame to his family by becoming a Knight of Santo Stefano (the order instituted by Grand-Duke Cosimo I de' Medici) in 1581. He was also very interested in the arts and practised sculpture. Before the discovery of the present bust and its pendant in 1961, his only documented work was a bust of grand-duke Francesco I in a niche of the façade of the Palazzo dei Cavalieri di Santo Stefano in Pisa (Sirigatti only provided the model for the bust). Ridolfo features as one of the four protagonists in Raffaele Borghini's art treatise Il Riposo (1584), as an art expert and collector. In the dialogue between Sirigatti and the collector Bernardo Vecchietti some works by the former are mentioned. Amongst them is the "marble head of his father done from like which is extremely alike", which can be identified with the present bust. It is inscribed with the sitter's name and the date on the socle (NICOLAVS SIRIGATTIVS MDLXXVI). On the back there is another inscription, a dedication presenting the bust as a tribute from Sirigatti to his father: QVEM GENVI RODVLPHVS ANIMI CAVSA CAELAVIT (Ridolfo, whom I bore, sculpted this as a tribute of love). |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | Florentine men were known for the relative sobriety of their dress. Here the artist’s father wears a sleeveless overcoat atop his coat. The brocade of the undercoat is a variation of the pomegranite pattern worn by his wife. The delicate whorls on the buttons are meant to indicate that they are made of metal. In his own day Ridolfo Sirigatti (active ca. 1570-1600) seems to have been regarded as a sculptor of considerable eminence. The son of a rich textile merchant and of Cassandra, daughter of the painter Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, Ridolfo continued his father's mercantile activity and brought fame to his family by becoming one of the Knights of Santo Stefano (the order instituted by Grand-Duke Cosimo I de' Medici) in 1581. This bust is a rare example of Ridolfo Sirigatti's activity as a sculptor. Together with its companion piece, depicting Cassandra Sirigatti (A.13-1961), it shows high technical skill and an unusual and original style in comparison with Florentine contemporary sculpture. The peculiar disposition of the shoulders in both busts, with the right one pulled slightly back from the rest of the figure, and the left pushed slightly forward, shows the artist's intention to give an impression of movement. |
Associated object | A.13-1961 (Set) |
Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | A.12-1961 |
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Record created | March 3, 2006 |
Record URL |
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