Physical description

Plaster cast from a marble original depicting a Battle scene from the tomb of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan (d. 1402), by the workshop of Gian Cristoforo Romano, 1491-7

Place of Origin

Milan (sculpted)
Milan (cast)

Date

1491-1497 (sculpted)
ca. 1884 (cast)

Artist/maker

Romano, Gian Cristoforo (sculptor)
Pierotti, Edoardo (maker)

Materials and Techniques

Plaster cast

Marks and inscriptions

Inscribed: IMPERIO AVSPICIOQVE SVO HOSTILES EXERCITVS DEBELLAT
'By his authority and command he subdues the enemy armies'

Dimensions

Height: 137.5 cm with base, Width: 170.5 cm

Object history note

Purchased from Edoardo Pierotti in 1884 for £12 (300 lire)

Historical context note

One of a series of six reliefs decorating the attic story of the tomb, depicting worthy deeds by Gian Galeazzo Visconti. Inscribed: IMPERIO AVSPICIOQVE SVO HOSTILES EXERCITVS DEBELLAT (By his authority and command he subdues the enemy armies). Gian Galeazzo Visconti, the founder of the Certosa of Pavia, died of the plague in 1402 and was buried in the Abbey of Viboldone. It was some ninety years later that Ludovico Sforza (Il Moro, 1452-1508) commissioned a tomb for Gian Galeazzo in the Certosa, in accordance with the latter's will. Gian Cristoforo Romano does appear from the documents to have been in charge of the project for the tomb. However, it is not possible to ascribe this relief to Gian Cristoforo himself, on account of the lack of any comparable material which is certainly his hand.

Descriptive line

Plaster cast from a marble original depicting a Battle scene from the tomb of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan (d. 1402), by the workshop of Gian Cristoforo Romano, 1491-7, In the west lobe of the South transept in the church of Certosa, Pavia, cast by Edoardo Pierotti, Milan, ca. 1884

Materials

Plaster

Techniques

Cast

Subjects depicted

Battles; Sepulchral monuments

Categories

Sculpture; Architecture

Collection

Sculpture Collection