Cosimo III de' Medici
by FOGGINI, Giambattista, Marble, height 99 cm
This portrait bust represents Cosimo III de’ Medici (1642-1723), Grand Duke of Tuscany, the head of the Florentine family. Foggini had trained in Rome and there he absorbed the vigour and drama of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s style.
The statue has a pendant, the bust of Ferdinando de’ Medici (1663-1713), Grand Prince of Tuscany, the son of Cosimo III. Although it is assumed by some scholars that the pair belonged to a series of busts of members of the house of Medici, it is more probable that they were independent of a larger set.