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Santa Giuliana de' Banzi

ca. 1470–75
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 500
In this psychologically penetrating work, Niccolò dell’Arca, great pioneer of realistic terracotta sculpture in North Italy, has made us believe we are encountering the fifth-century saint, Santa Giuliana de’ Banzi. To do so, he may have based her features on a contemporary woman of Bologna, where she was particularly revered and where Niccolo settled in the early 1460s. But it is much more than a likeness. By giving her slightly parted lips and eyes that seem to track her melancholy thoughts, this wealthy, pious widow comes alive before our eyes.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Santa Giuliana de' Banzi
  • Artist: Niccolò dell' Arca (Italian, Bari ca. 1435–1494 Bologna)
  • Date: ca. 1470–75
  • Culture: Italian
  • Medium: Terracotta, traces of later polychrome
  • Dimensions: Overall: 17 11/16 × 17 5/16 × 9 5/8 in. (45 × 44 × 24.5 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Gift of Hester Diamond, and Purchase, Walter and Leonore Annenberg Acquisitions Endowment Fund, 2017
  • Object Number: 2017.689
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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