The profile portrait, inspired by ancient Roman models, often appears in Italian Renaissance art. It might show a famous Roman ruler or statesman – Julius Caesar or Cicero for example – or a realistic or idealised image of a contemporary figure such as this beautifully carved, but unidentified, young man.
Physical description
Relief in marble with the sitter represented in profile facing to the left. The portrait terminates at the base below the shoulder. The edges at top and bottom are irregular.
Place of Origin
Lucca, Italy (made)
Date
ca. 1475-1500 (made)
Artist/maker
Civitali, Matteo, born 1435 - died 1501 (style of, made)
Materials and Techniques
Carved marble
Dimensions
Height: 25.4 cm, Depth: 2.2 cm, Width: 17.5 cm at the top, Width: 17 cm at the bottom
Object history note
Pope-Hennessy (Vol I, p278-279) argued that it was unlikely this relief was made as an independent portrait, because of the position of the relief on its ground, and the condition of the edges. He noted that similar reliefs appear at the end of the predella of Civitali's Altar of St Regulus in the Duomo in Lucca and that therefore there was a presumption that this relief was made for the same purpose, perhaps in the workshop of Civitali.
Historical context note
Matteo Civitali was born in 1436 and died in 1501. The relationship between this relief and Civitali's workshop is tentative.
Descriptive line
Panel Relief, marble, 'Portrait of a Young Man', in the style of Matteo Civitali, Italy, 1475-1500
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
John Pope-Hennessy, Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum (London, HMSO, 1964), Vol I, Cat No. 291, p278-279
John Pope-Hennessy, Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum (London, HMSO, 1964), Vol III, Figure 294
Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1861 In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 30
Maclagan, Eric and Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture. Text. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1932, p. 110
Pope-Hennessy, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Volume I: Text. Eighth to Fifteenth Century. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1964, pp. 278, 279
Theuerkauff, C. Die Bildwerke in Elfenbein des 16. - 19. Jahrhunderts, Berlin, 1986, p. 377, note2.
Labels and date
Object Label in Gallery 19 [transcribed 18 August 2006]
Portrait of a Youth
Marble
Style of Matteo Civitali (b.1436; d.1501)
Lucchese; second half of the fifteenth century
7626-1861
The relief does not appear to have constituted a independent portrait and may have been excised from a predella panel, such as that of Civitali's Altar of St Regulus in the Duomo, Lucca. [pre August 2006]
Materials
Marble
Techniques
Carved
Subjects depicted
Man; Youth
Categories
Portraits; Sculpture
Collection code
SCP
