Francesco Bocchetta

Alessandro Vittoria (Alessandro Vittoria di Vigilio della Volpa)

ca. 1565–90 · Marble · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

The leading Venetian sculptor during the second half of the sixteenth century, Alessandro Vittoria was praised by contemporaries for his pioneering portrait busts. This marble was once installed over a tomb in the now deconsecrated church and monastery of Santa Caterina, Venice. The sitter, possibly the monastery’s chaplain, wears the clothes of a Venetian gentleman, with a five-petal flower fibula, or pin, on his left shoulder and a diagonal band across his chest. Though the work is unquestionably Vittoria’s invention, certain components, including the beard and the drapery, may have been carried out by assistants under his direction.

Artist

Alessandro Vittoria (Alessandro Vittoria di Vigilio della Volpa)

Date

ca. 1565–90

Medium

Marble

Culture

Italian, Venice

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1956