The young woman portrayed in this sculpture turns her head slightly, as if responding to someone nearby. The delicate pose was clearly intended to be seen from the front. Looked at in profile, the figure has a rigidity that suggests the work of a young master not yet able to reconcile the different viewpoints of a marble sculpture. This is one reason why this ambitious bust is identified as one of the earliest marble sculptures by the fifteenth-century Florentine artist Andrea del Verrocchio.
The woman’s physical presence is convincing beneath her richly decorated dress. Its meticulous detail, along with that of her elaborate hairstyle, reflect Verrocchio’s training as a goldsmith. The different kinds of curls that abound in her hairstyle are a tour de force of marble drilling, while the shifting interplay of the different layers of clothing and the perfectly chiseled clasp of the gown reflect Verrocchio’s study with the best marble carvers of the day. This bust demonstrates the young artist’s command of the medium, from the low relief of the clasp and shirt to the deep curls of the hairstyle to the volumetric coherence of the body in motion.
The sitter’s identity is unknown. Among the names proposed are the Florentine gentlewoman Albiera degli Albizi and Medea Colleoni, whose father, Bartolomeo Colleoni, was a famed military captain for whom Verrocchio worked later in life. At one time, the bust was also believed to be a depiction of Ginevra de’ Benci, whose celebrated portrait by Leonardo da Vinci, Verrocchio’s most renowned pupil, is now at the National Gallery in Washington. The gilt base later added to the bust erroneously identifies the sitter as Ginevra.
Bust of a Woman
Although it is neither signed nor documented, the marble bust is convincingly attributed to Verrocchio through comparison with other works known to be by him. Despite the coat of arms emblazoned on both her sleeves, the subject of the portrait has not been identified. Unlike any of the earlier female figures in the Collection, whether saint, angel, or gentlewoman, this young lady decidedly belongs to the world she inhabits. She is a person with claims to wealth and fashion. Her elaborate coiffure of twists and ringlets is bound up with ribbons and rosettes. The laced bodice and the floral-patterned tunic of brocade or cut-velvet, fastened with a foliate buckle, are all exquisitely detailed by the sculptor, who was noted for the precious clasps he made for copes. She herself has a physical presence, a body delicately but visibly shaped beneath the rich clothing, and she seems to respond to some external presence sharing her space. The slight tilt and twist of the head and her alert look suggest a mind actively engaged with its surroundings.
This sense of a fleeting moment captured—the animation, both physical and spiritual—is characteristic of Verrocchio's best-known sculpture, such as his David and the Putto Clutching a Dolphin, or the dramatic narrative of Christ and St. Thomas for the Orsanmichele, Florence. More than any of his predecessors, Verrocchio could inspire his figures with an inner life, an achievement that his pupil Leonardo would explore with unmatched complexity and subtlety.
Source: Art in The Frick Collection: Paintings, Sculpture, Decorative Arts, New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996.
Charles Timbal, Paris (purchased in Venice through Eugène Piot). Gustave Dreyfus, Paris (purchased from Timbal in 1870). Purchased by Duveen with the remainder of the Dreyfus collection in 1930. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., New York. Bequeathed by him to The Frick Collection, 1961.
Source: The Frick Collection: Drawings, Prints & Later Acquisitions. Volume IX. New York: The Frick Collection, 2003.
