Bust

This bust representing a man was made by Alessandro Vittoria (1525-1608) in Italy in about 1590-1600. This comes from Palazzo Manfrin, Venice. The identity of the subject is uncertain, though he is wearing the robes and stole of a Procurator of the Venetian Republic. The 19th century inscription painted on the base, 'Marco Antonio Grimani, 1565', cannot be correct, as the features of the sitter do not correspond with those of an authentic portrait of Grimani in S. Sebastiano, Venice.

Vittoria was born in Trento but moved to Venice in 1543, where he entered the workshop of Jacopo Sansovino (1486-1570), and became the most important sculptor in Venice in the late 16th century. He produced a large number of portrait busts in bronze, marble and terracotta.