Allegory of Sculpture thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Allegory of Sculpture

Statue
ca. 1570 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The statuette is a sketch model (or bozzetto) for the allegorical figure on the left-hand side of the tomb of Michelangelo in S. Croce, Florence.

The tomb was planned by Vincenzo Borghini and designed by Giorgio Vasari in 1564, shortly after Michelangelo's death. Each of the three figures representing Sculpture, Architecture and Painting, was assigned to a different artist.

The figure on the left, by Battista Lorenzi, was originally intended as Sculpture. It was already partially carved when Michelangelo's heirs asked for Sculpture to occupy the central position on the tomb. Lorenzi's figure (completed 1573) was therefore changed to represent Painting, but displays the attributes of both subjects. A terracotta sketch-model for the figure of Architecture by Giovanni Bandini (1540-99) is in the Sir John Soane Museum (inv. no. A. 58).


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleAllegory of Sculpture (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Terracotta
Brief description
Terracotta sculpture of Allegory of Sculpture, made by Battista Lorenzi, Florence, ca. 1570
Physical description
Emblematical figure of Architecture, the left arm wanting.
Dimensions
  • Height: 34.1cm
Object history
The statuette is a sketch model (or bozzetto) for the allegorical figure on the left-hand side of the tomb of Michelangelo in S. Croce, Florence. The tomb was planned by Vincenzo Borghini and designed by Giorgio Vasari in 1564, shortly after Michelangelo's death. Each of the three figures representing Sculpture, Architecture and Painting, was assigned to a different artist. The figure on the left, by Battista Lorenzi, was originally intended as Sculpture. It was already partially carved when Michelangelo's heirs asked for Sculpture to occupy the central position on the tomb. Lorenzi's figure (completed 1573) was therefore changed to represent Painting, but displays the attributes of both subjects. A terracotta sketch-model for the figure of Architecture by Giovanni Bandini (1540-99) is in the Sir John Soane Museum (inv. no. A. 58).
Summary
The statuette is a sketch model (or bozzetto) for the allegorical figure on the left-hand side of the tomb of Michelangelo in S. Croce, Florence.

The tomb was planned by Vincenzo Borghini and designed by Giorgio Vasari in 1564, shortly after Michelangelo's death. Each of the three figures representing Sculpture, Architecture and Painting, was assigned to a different artist.

The figure on the left, by Battista Lorenzi, was originally intended as Sculpture. It was already partially carved when Michelangelo's heirs asked for Sculpture to occupy the central position on the tomb. Lorenzi's figure (completed 1573) was therefore changed to represent Painting, but displays the attributes of both subjects. A terracotta sketch-model for the figure of Architecture by Giovanni Bandini (1540-99) is in the Sir John Soane Museum (inv. no. A. 58).
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1854. 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. 19
  • Maclagan, Eric and Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture. Text. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1932, p. 144
  • Avery, Charles. Giovanni Bandini (1540-1599) Reconsidered, In: Antologia di Belle Arti. La Scultura Studi in onore di Andrew S. Ciechanowiecki. NS. NN. 48-51, 1994, pp. 16-27
  • Pope-Hennessy, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Volume II: Text. Sixteenth to Twentieth Century. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1964, pp. 455, 456.
  • Luchinat, C.A., et al, The Medici, Michelangelo, and the Art of Late Renaissance Florence, New Haven : Yale University Press, 2002 79
Collection
Accession number
4121-1854

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Record createdFebruary 13, 2004
Record URL
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