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Portrait of a Noblewoman Matteo Civitali Giuseppe Lelli (cast maker)

Artist

Matteo Civitali Lucca 1436 – 1501 Lucca

Giuseppe Lelli (cast maker) Firenze

Culture Italian
Date ca. 1490—1495 (original), 1907 (cast)
Object type plaster cast
Medium, technique plaster cast
Dimensions

79 × 65 × 15 cm

Inventory number Rg.219
Collection Sculptures
On view Star Fortress (Komárom), Humanism and the Florentine Sculpture, Gallery XV

The relief, regarded as one of the outstanding portraits of the quattrocento, depicts an unknown noblewoman. The work is now housed by the Bargello Museum in Florence. There have been several attempts to identify the fashionably dressed young lady, who is portrayed in profile. Yet, notwithstanding the heraldic or emblematic references — a stirrup, the letter “C”, and a radiant sun — on the hem of the woman’s coat, there is still no consensus on her identity. All that is known is on its inclusion in the collection of the chapterhouse of Lucca Cathedral, the work was recorded as a portrait of the famous Matilda of Tuscany (1046—1115).

This record is subject to revision due to ongoing research.

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