An Authorship Rediscovered: New Evidence about Harvard’s Pair of Renaissance Terracotta Busts

Art historian Felipe Pereda and Objects & Sculpture Conservator Tony Sigel propose a solution to the much-disputed and unknown authorship and identities of a pair of magnificent 16th century Renaissance terracotta busts in the Harvard Art Museums: "Portrait bust of a man" and "Portrait bust of a woman."
Prof. Pereda argues that these are among the most delicate terracotta portraits of the whole Renaissance period and are crucial in reframing the legacy of Pietro Torrigiano, the sculptor known best as "the man who broke Michelangelo's nose." This talk will take participants through the archival, art historical and technical evidence identifying the sitters, propose Pietro Torrigiano to be the sculptor who created them, and the modeling techniques he used to create the busts, from the inside out.
TAKE A CLOSER LOOK:
+ Unidentified Artist, "Portrait Bust of a Man," c. 1510 - 1550. Terracotta. Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of David Rockefeller in memory of his mother Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, 1981.188. hvrd.art/o/227922.
+ Unidentified Artist, "Portrait Bust of a Woman," c. 1510 - 1550. Terracotta. Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of David Rockefeller in memory of his mother Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, 1981.189. hvrd.art/o/227929.
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SPEAKERS:
+ Tony Sigel, Senior Conservator of Objects and Sculpture, Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, Harvard Art Museums;
+ Felipe Pereda, Fernando Zóbel de Ayala Professor of Spanish Art, Department of History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University.
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'Art & Ideas' is an annual meeting hosted by the Harvard Art Museums' Division of Institutional Advancement in which the museums’ collections and their innovative role in teaching are explored, both at the university and far beyond, with the museums' advocates, donors, and leaders. Online program details for Arts & Ideas 2020 are available at hvrd.art/artideas.
Watch more sessions from Arts & Ideas 2020: harvardartmuse....
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Recorded October 16, 2020. © President and Fellows of Harvard College. Video: Division of Institutional Advancement. For questions related to permission for commercial use of this video, please contact the Department of Digital Imaging and Visual Resources at [e-mail].

[@JaneTurley]

Fascinating. Thank you. Will watch out for the book.

[@maearcher4721]

For love of God-you cannot believe for a second that Catherine of Aragon's portrait is Mary Tudor! Mr Mathews's entire research can be sumerized by his 'Catherine's symbol was pomegranate she had no reason to wear scalops' even though scallops are symbol of St. James the Great-patron saint of Spain! Pilgrimages to his shrine in Santiago de Compostela are to this day comemorated by wearing scallops! She made the pilgrimage! And he said no reason! If me as amateur can find it, then you as experts should have seen through it long ago! Credibility of his reidentificatio is 0!
On that point alone! He ignored 2 other portraits by Sittow with same sitter! As if they didn't exist! When they were clearly a set!
Also the lenght of frill on french hood firmly places the painting in 1st half of 1500s! Woman is too old to be Mary Rose Tudor! If not Catherine, it would have to be Juana!
(Who admitably would be most logical person to be potrayed by Sittow and be wearing Nethertherlandish fashion.) Saying it is Mary Rose in 1510s is completely ridiculous!

[@maearcher4721]

By the way, the neck is weakest point of bust. Plenty of his could have broken in that place! The fashion which you see in the bust is 100% netherladish.
Allow me to tell you bit about chronology of fashion on female bust because yours is hard nut to crack. The split front gown is something you don't see in royal netherlandish portraits since c.1505, the split kirtle behind it is typical for netherlands c.1510-1525. This particular parlet is nearly perfect match to one worn by Isabella of Austria in her c.1520 by Gossart portrait-now lost. So despite the split gown, I will go with c. 1520. The headwear female wears signifies mourning, and Margaret of Austria wore it plenty. However given how much the shape of lips resembles Catherine of Aragon-I'd rather go with one of her nieces. By c.1520, Eleanor and Mary adopted fashion of other countries, and only Isabella still kept to Netherlandish style. It's most likely her. She diverted slightly from mainstream netherlandish fashion and her with split gown lined with fur can be explained by moving into colder country and needing extra warmth.