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Tomb of Piero and Giovanni de’ Medici Andrea del Verrocchio Giuseppe Lelli (cast maker)

Artist

Andrea del Verrocchio Florence, 1435 – Venice, 1488

Giuseppe Lelli (cast maker) Firenze

Date 1469—1473 (original), 1907 (cast)
Object type plaster cast
Medium, technique plaster cast
Dimensions

259 × 250 × 108 cm

Inventory number Rg.225
Collection Sculptures
On view Star Fortress (Komárom), Humanism and the Florentine Sculpture, Gallery XV

The tomb made for Cosimo il Vecchio’s two sons, Piero and Giovanni de’ Medici, was commissioned by Lorenzo de’ Medici after the death of his father, Piero, in 1469. The work is found in the church of San Lorenzo in Florence. It stands under the transept arcade arch, near the old sacristy. According to contemporary accounts, the innovative tomb, which has no figurative decoration, soon attracted considerable interest. The materials used for the tomb were rather special: marble, serpentinite, pietra serena, porphyry, and bronze. In the iconography of the tomb, the ideas of its commissioner, Lorenzo de’ Medici, contributed greatly to the development of the symbolic elements.

This record is subject to revision due to ongoing research.

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