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Virtue

Agostino Busti1512 - 1548 approx.

Sforzesco Castle

Sforzesco Castle
Milan, Italy

The sculpture depicting Virtue is
  part of the sculptures from the funerary monument to Gaston de Foix, a
  masterpiece by Agostino Busti known as Bambaia, now exhibited in the Museum's
  Sala degli Scarlioni. The tomb was to be erected in honour of French military
  leader Gaston de Foix, who died in Ravenna in 1512, and it was intended for
  Santa Marta, a favourite church of the French, where the hero’s body had been
  taken after the funeral. From documentation regarding the Monument, we know
  that it must have been a very demanding task, and it was estimated to require
  at least four to six years of work. The commission probably came directly
  from the King and the confirmation for this comes precisely from Bambaia who,
  in his will written on April 25th 1528, speaks of credit outstanding with the
  "Most Christian King of France" (Francois I) for the tomb he made
  but had not yet finished. Thanks to these words of Bambaia we can say with
  certainty that the monument remained unfinished, as also confirmed by Vasari
  in his "Lives". In the church of Santa Marta the sculptures were
  found without any connection between them: standing female characters, seated
  male figures (as in the case of Virtue), small pillars of various sizes
  decorated with trophies, narrative reliefs with scenes of war, all of
  masterly execution and piled on the ground, simply because the piece had
  never been assembled. For this reason, putting together the twenty sculptures
  destined for the funeral monument is very problematic, given that there is no
  certain information on how the tomb was to have appeared in its final
  version.

  If we look at the sculptures that have survived - the recumbent effigy of
  Gaston, the sequence of the apostles, the female figures and the reliefs that
  narrate the deceased’s life - we can see the element of political manifesto
  of the tomb, aimed at celebrating the deeds and the earthly glory of the
  young marshal of France. The sculptural language of Bambaia marries the
  knowledge of classical art acquired in his time in Rome with the great lesson
  of Leonardo, recognisable in the eloquent gestures and expressiveness of his
  characters.

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  • Title: Virtue
  • Creator: Agostino Busti known as Bambaia
  • Date Created: 1512 - 1548 approx.
  • Location: Museo di Arte Antica, Castello Sforzesco, Milan
  • Type: Sculpture
  • Rights: Comune di Milano - Civiche Raccolte Artistiche, Castello Sforzesco, Milano
  • External Link: https://arteantica.milanocastello.it/
  • Medium: Marble
  • Art Movement: Renaissance
  • Art Form: Sculpture
  • Original title: Virtù
  • Artist Nationality: Italian
  • Artist Death Place: Milan
  • Artist Death Date: 1548
  • Artist Birth Place: Busto Arsizio, Varese
  • Artist Birth Date: 1483
Sforzesco Castle

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