Bust of Bartolomeo Colleoni

myminifactory

This is a plaster cast of the original bronze head of Bartolomeo Colleoni, who died in 1475, from the equestrian monument in Campo SS. Giovanni e Paolo in Venice. Bartolommeo Colleoni, a condottiere who had commanded Venetian troops, bequeathed money for this monument in his will. The commission was awarded to Verrocchio in April 1480, but he left it unfinished at his death in 1488. Alessandro Leopardi of Ferrara cast the original statue between 1480 and 1496; his signature is on the horse's girth. The plaster cast was created by Elkington & Co. in Birmingham or London around 1885. Plaster casts were highly sought after during the 19th century because reproductions of great works of sculpture and architecture were seen as crucial for artists' training. A separating substance was applied to the work's surface, then a plaster mould made from it. This mould was used to make additional plaster copies, which were often sold to artists and later in the century to art colleges for study purposes. Gallery location: The Cast Courts, Room 46b, The Weston Cast Court, case FS, shelf NC; courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.