Tondo with Profile of a Gentleman

Tuscan
16th century, White marble

This work, by an anonymous artist, probably Tuscan and active in the second half of the 16th century, is an example of portraiture modelled after sources from antiquity, in particular Greek and Roman medals. The rendering of the effigy is of high quality, and the figure is represented in such a way as to emphasise his social role, which must have been important for him to have been commemorated. The anonymous sculptor, tasked with celebrating an austere philosopher or politician or courtier who certainly played a significant role in the environment in which he lived, has been able to honour him by handing down to posterity the image of a proud and stern character: witness the firmness of the gaze and the crease of the mouth, indicative of the decision-making capacity of the person portrayed.