MAIANO, Benedetto da
(b. 1442, Firenze, d. 1497, Firenze)

Pietro Mellini

1474
Marble, height 53 cm
Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence

The dated marble bust of Mellini, who is dressed in a lavish brocade garment, is a portrait of a rich Florentine merchant, whose choice of dress was designed to give him an air of nobility. His natural appearance and the high level of detail in his wrinkled face suggest the this was a portrait bust made using a plaster mask.