Soldani-Benzi, medal of the Grand Duchess of Tuscany £500

Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi (1656-1740)

Grand Duchess of Tuscany

Bronze; uniface medal

87 mm. diameter

£500

Provenance:

Private collection, Italy

Soldani-Benzi was the finest bronze caster in Europe in the late 1600s and was court sculptor to the Medici family. Born to an aristocratic cavalry captain from Tuscany, he entered the orbit of the Medici’s at nineteen, when he attended their drawing school in Florence. Taken with his work, Grand Duke Cosimo III de’ Medici sent Soldani-Benzi to Rome to further his artistic education and in particular to learn coin-making. During his four years in Rome, Soldani-Benzi’s medallion portraits attracted the attention of Christina, the abdicated Queen of Sweden, but Cosimo prohibited him from accepting her commissions. After Rome, Cosimo sent the artist to work with a famous medalist in Paris. Again in deference to Cosimo, Soldani-Benzi refused overtures from Louis XIV and, cutting short his visit, returned to Florence, where he was made director of the Granducal Mint.

Though trained as a medalist, Soldani-Benzi also produced bronze reliefs, figures, and busts, often after the antique. His workshop was located in Florence on the ground floor of the Galleria degli Uffizi.

Vittoria della Rovere, Grand Duchess of Tuscany (1622–1694) was the wife of Grand Duke Ferdinando II. Her marriage brought a wealth of treasures to the House of Medici. Soldani produced this medal in 1685 and it is considered an exceptional portrait of the ageing duchess. There are versions in the V&A Museum, London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.