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Elector Frederick III Of Saxony, Known As The Wise (1463–1525)

Adriano Fiorentino (Adriano di Giovanni de' Maestri)1498

Renaissance and Reformation. German Art in the Age of Dürer and Cranach

Renaissance and Reformation. German Art in the Age of Dürer and Cranach

Frederick the Wise was Luther’s protector and the founder of the University of Wittenberg, which became the intellectual center of the Reformation. Fiorentino’s bust, an early masterpiece of central European portrait sculpture, is a telling example of the reception north of the Alps of early Renaissance art particularly from Florence. The portrait combines the Italian bust type with German clothing, beard, and hairstyle.

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  • Title: Elector Frederick III Of Saxony, Known As The Wise (1463–1525)
  • Creator: Adriano Fiorentino (Adriano di Giovanni de' Maestri)
  • Date Created: 1498
  • Physical Dimensions: H 62.8 cm
  • Technique and Material: Brass
  • Provenance: In 1826 first mentioned in the catalogue of the antiquities collection, with the remark “Formerly in the castle church at Torgau.”
  • Museum: Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Skulpturensammlung
  • Inv.-No.: H4 1/1
  • ISIL-No.: DE-MUS-845610
  • External Link: http://www.skd.museum/de/museen-institutionen/albertinum/skulpturensammlung/index.html
  • Copyright: Photo © Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Skulpturensammlung, Sächsischer Altertumsverein/ Elke Estel, Hans-Peter Klut; Text © Renaissance and Reformation: German Art in the Age of Dürer and Cranach, A Cooperation of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, and the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen München, Catalogue of the Exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Nov 20, 2016 – March 26, 2017, Munich: Prestel, 2016; cat. no. 95 / Astrid Nielsen
  • Catalogue: https://prestelpublishing.randomhouse.de/book/Renaissance-and-Reformation/Stephanie-Buck/Prestel-com/e504919.rhd
  • Artist Dates: c. 1440/50 Florenz (?) – 1499 Florenz
  • Artist Biography: This sculptor and goldsmith, who stood out as a portraitist, was trained by the Donatello student Bertoldo di Giovanni, under whom Michelangelo had also studied. After working as a gun founder and medalist at the courts of Naples, Urbino, and Mantua, Adriano was active in Innsbruck around 1495. A stay in Saxony, as suggested by his bust of Frederick III, has not been documented.
Renaissance and Reformation. German Art in the Age of Dürer and Cranach

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