Female bust, ideal portrait of Laura (?)
Francesco Laurana · 1490
Francesco Laurana
Republic of Venice · 1430–1502
Francesco Laurana, also known as Francesco de la Vrana (Croatian: Franjo Vranjanin; c. 1430, before 12 March 1502) was a Dalmatian sculptor and medallist. He was born in the territory of the Republic of Venice, in present-day Croatia. Laurana spent his mature career at the other end of Italy, moving between Naples and Sicily, and Urbino, and finally in southern France, where he died. He was one of the more significant and complex sculptors of the 15th century, complex because of his activities within varying cultural circles and his exposure to differing influences.
Known works
Female bust, ideal portrait of Laura (?)
Francesco Laurana · 1490
Kunsthistorisches Museum
The Bust of Isabella of Aragon or Ideal Portrait of Laura is a marble sculpture by Francesco Laurana, now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. It is the only one of the artist's sculptures to retain the coloured wax he applied to it. Its idealisation draws on the works of Piero della Francesca, which Laurana may have seen in Urbino, and leads some to identify it as an ideal portrait of Petrarch's Laura.
Sources
Invite Francesco Laurana into your living room
