On-line gallery
- Reference number
- E00264
- Author
- Leoni, Leone (Italian)
- Title
- Emperor Carlos V (bust)
- Chronology
- 1553
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 102 cm x 53 cm x 32 cm - 119,4 kg
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- No
- Entrance
- COLECCION REAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
The Emperor (1500-1558) is
represented with attributes
alluding to his power: armor, the
necklace of the Golden Fleece and a
crossing sash. The armor has a low
relief of the Virgin Mary carved on
the chest, representing the armor
Carlos V wore during the Battle of
Mühlberg in 1547. The bust sits on
a base carved from the same piece
of marble and adorned with the mask
of a satyr. It is also held by two
small figures of a man and woman
ending in fish tails. An oval
cartouche in the center bears the
inscription that presents the
Emperor.
This sculpture is derived from the
bronze model (E271) that the Leoni
made of Carlos V himself, although
the work is less meticulous here.
The modeling is softer and the
factions, less expressive. Those
differences suggested a possible
attribution to artists other than
the Milanese Leoni family —perhaps
other sculptors from Carrara.
