Portrait of a Woman
by LAURANA, Francesco, Marble, traces of pigment, height 47 cm
This bust with a French provenance is not securely identified. As the bust was discovered in Marseille, the work may date from after Laurana’s return to France in 1477, and the sitter might be French. It is carved in one piece and has a deep hollow, projecting base with a tablet for an inscription. The sitter most often has been identified as Ippolita Maria Sforza, who married Alfonso, Duke of Calabria in 1465.