Alfonso I of Aragon, King of Naples
c. 1541/43 | Fra Giovan Angelo Montorsoli
The significant coiffure and the prominently staged neckchain of the Order of the Golden Fleece are the distinguishing features of this posthumously created portrait bust. The king was known to have been wise and mild, yet also inclined to “a love of pomp and lust”. In 1445, Alfonso I became the first foreign king to be elected to the Order of the Golden Fleece of Burgundy. After the capture of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453, Alfonso accommodated the Greek scholars who had been driven from the city in his realm.
The significant coiffure and the prominently staged neckchain of the Order of the Golden Fleece are the distinguishing features of this posthumously created portrait bust. The king was known to have been wise and mild, yet also inclined to “a love of pomp and lust”. In 1445, Alfonso I became the first foreign king to be elected to the Order of the Golden Fleece of Burgundy. After the capture of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453, Alfonso accommodated the Greek scholars who had been driven from the city in his realm.
Attributed to:
Fra Giovan Angelo Montorsoli (1499 - 1563 Florenz) DNB
Time:
c. 1541/43
Object Name
portrait head; bust
Culture
Naples
Material/technology:
Marble
Dimensions:
H. 96 cm, W. 61 cm
Copyright
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Kunstkammer
Invs.
Kunstkammer, 5441
Provenance
1875 Ambras Collection, III, 20, p.155; 1832 from auction art cabinet of Father Tobias in the monastery of St. Augustine (Suppl. Inv., p.82, No.6); 837 ex 1833