2-723-368 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Baccio Bandinelli, 1548. This image promotes the proud Florentine sculptor Bandinelli in heroic terms. He sits like a giant among ancient statues, sources of inspiration that he has mastered. A lion tears into a block of marble with its teeth, symbolizing Bandinelli’s formidable power over the material of his art. He wears the fur-lined cloak of a well-dressed gentleman, illustrating the elevated social and intellectual status artists achieved during the 1500s. The dagger-shaped cross on his shirt refers to his knighthood in the Order of Santiago, a religious association reserved for nobility. Emperor Charles V awarded him the prestigious membership in return for one of his desirable bronze reliefs.