An Unknown Man

This figure of a portrait of a man is made by an unknown artist in Florence in the second half of the 16th century.

The figure does not fall into any of the normal classes of portrait. Its free and frankly naturalistic modelling and its cutting at the level of the hips make it improbable as a preliminary model for a funeral statue in bronze or marble. It may have been made as part of one of the frequent but ephemeral festival decorations that were produced during the Renaissance. The costume suggests a date of about 1540.