Bust of Grand Prince Ferdinando de' Medici
by FOGGINI, Giambattista, Marble, height 80 cm
Foggini studied at the Florentine Academy in Rome. The influence of Roman sculpture arrived at Florence about 1680 when Foggini did there his marble bas-reliefs and carvings of angels completely in the style of Bernini for the Corsini chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine and for SS. Annunziata.
Foggini adapted Bernini’s model (the bust of Francesco I d’Este) for his bust of Grand Prince Ferdinando de’ Medici. The general proportions of head to torso are similar to Bernini’s example ; the drapery, flowing hair and elaborate cravat distract us from the features of the melancholy sitter, while the very remoteness of his gaze underscores a sense of distance, suggestive of a higher sphere of duty. Such an image remained the preferred icon of state portrait in marble or bronze until the age of King Louis XV of France.