Portrait of a Woman, possibly Mary Rose Tudor

Portrait busts like these became popular in 15th-century Italy. They were commissioned in painted terracotta, marble, or bronze by wealthy and aristocratic patrons across Europe. While the identity of the sitters has been the subject of debate, recent technical and scholarly examinations have helped establish the authenticity of the busts. Consequently, they have been reattributed to Florentine sculptor Pietro Torrigiano, who served at the cosmopolitan court of Margaret of Austria (1480–1530). The busts demonstrate an extraordinary level of craftsmanship. Sheets of clay, sculpted separately, were assembled to form the whole, which was then fired in a kiln (terracotta means “baked earth”). The sculptor used toothed, oval, and round tip modeling tools to texture the surface as well as his fingers to smooth the soft clay. Notice the sitters’ hair and the man’s fur stole, nuanced by stamping a small-toothed tool to create contrasting, reflecting effects; or the sueded parts of their costumes, made by stippling with a trimmed bristle brush. The variety and quality of these details suggest that the busts were possibly not intended to be painted. Yet their verisimilitude competes with contemporary developments in portrait painting, inviting comparison. [1981.188, 1981.189]