AFTER MICHELANGELO, CAST BY FERDINAND BARBEDIENNE, PARIS, CIRCA 1890

The present lot is modelled after the marble figures that surmount the tombs of Lorenzo and Giuliano de Medici at the church of San Lorenzo in Florence. The funerary chapel was intended to be an outlet for Michelangelo's masterful sculptures and architectural design. Placed at opposite ends of a large, domed room, the tombs are of innovative form; rather than employing the traditional abundance of Christian symbols, Michelangelo allowed all of the artistic expression to come from the statues of the men themselves. Lorenzo is shown wearing pseudo-Roman armour, in reference to the ceremony of 1513 granting him Roman citizenship. The money box on which his elbow rests may relate to the Medici profession of banking. Bronze reductions of Giuliano were edited in seven sizes, and of Lorenzo in nine sizes by Barbedienne.