Pietà
by BANDINI, Giovanni, Marble
In 1583-84 Bandini created the bronze group with Meleager for Francesco Maria II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino. For this uncharacteristically dynamic grouping he probably drew on antique sculpture, a Hippolytus sarcophagus, and on a Wild Boar in the ducal collection (Palazzo Pitti, Florence). The change in Bandini’s style is evident also in the marble Pietà, generally considered his masterpiece, which was probably influenced by Sebastiano del Piombo’s Pietà (Museo Civico, Viterbo) after Michelangelo’s design, and also by the antique Niobe Group (Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence), especially the son of Niobe, excavated the year Bandini began the work.
This group was probably intended for the tomb of Francesco Maria II della Rovere.