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Renaissance · National Gallery of Art · 134

Giuliano de' Medici

Andrea del Verrocchio, c. 1475/1478

This freestanding, beige, terracotta bust shows the head and shoulders of a cleanshaven man, Giuliano de' Medici, wearing a suit of armor. The bust is straight across the bottom so it rests directly on the white surface on which it is photographed. In this view, the man’s shoulders are square to us, and he looks off to our right, chin lifted. His eyes are blank, and he has a bumped, aquiline nose and rounded cheeks. His lips are closed, the corners slightly pulled back. His thick, curly hair is cut to create an angle down from his eyebrows, on either side of his forehead, to the back of his neck. His breastplate has a high collar, and, at the front center, a man’s head is sculpted in relief with his mouth wide open, head flanked by upswept wings. The yelling man’s teeth and tongue are visible, and he has wavy hair and prominent ears. The pauldrons, the armor covering Giuliano's shoulders, and the rest of the breastplate are decorated geometric shapes and curved lines that end in sharp points.

National Gallery of Art · National Gallery of Art, Washington · Andrew W. Mellon Collection · CC0 · Public domain

Artist
Andrea del Verrocchio
Date
c. 1475/1478
Medium
terracotta
Dimensions
61 x 66 x 28.3 cm (24 x 26 x 11 1/8 in.)
Era
Renaissance

Why it matters

Giuliano de' Medici, dated c. 1475/1478, is catalogued by National Gallery of Art as a work in terracotta. The museum attributes the work to Andrea del Verrocchio. The recorded dimensions are 61 x 66 x 28.3 cm (24 x 26 x 11 1/8 in.). This factual page is generated from the museum catalogue and links directly to its source record.

National Gallery of Art collection record