Bust of Boccaccio

Probably because his social position made him more independent than the average artist, few of Rustici’s works are documented, although many have been identified from descriptions by Vasari, corroborated by stylistic comparisons. The earliest is a tightly designed marble bust of Giovanni Boccaccio, cowled and clasping a volume of his works, datable to 1503 . This is a competent portrait, made long after the death of the subject, and hence largely imaginary.

The bust was commissioned in 1503 by Vicar Lattanzio Tedaldi, and placed over the cenotaph of Boccaccio.