Tomb of Cardinal Antonio Martínez Chaves

An early work by Isaia is the tomb of Antonio Mart�nez Chaves, the Cardinal of Portugal, originally in San Giovanni in Laterano, Rome. The commission for the tomb was initially given to Filarete; Isaia had apparently not yet completed it in 1449, when Filarete attempted to return to Rome to reclaim the commission. The sculptures from the dismantled tomb are incorporated in two monuments, a Baroque resetting of the Chaves tomb and the tomb of Cardinal Giulio Acquaviva (d 1574), both in San Giovanni in Laterano.

The original tomb can be reconstructed from a drawing. The effigy and half-length figures in the centre are flanked by standing allegories in niches; it is probably the first example of a scheme that was to become characteristic of Roman tombs. Isaia’s execution of the sculpture does not necessarily imply that he invented the format, but the figures, with their overt references to antique models - Temperance, for example, derives from the Venus Genetrix type - is as forward-looking as the design itself. This all’antica style helps to explain Isaia’s popularity with his humanist patrons.