Bust of Michelangelo Buonarroti

Michelangelo died in Rome on 18 February 1564. Two days later a payment was recorded for casting two bronze heads of him. His nephew Lionardo Buonarroti had ordered the portraits from Daniele da Volterra, a pupil and close friend who had been at his side at the end, and an antiquarian friend, Diomede Leoni, soon asked for a third. The first casting, in 1565, failed and had to be repeated. When Daniele himself died in 1566, the inventory of his house listed three heads of Michelangelo in metal. This one shows the old man deeply lined and bearded, rising out of a heavy cloak. Nine similar busts survive in different collections, and which of them came from his studio is still an open question. The search began with the 2017 restoration of this bust, and in 2022 the Accademia brought all nine together for the first time, each one scanned and printed in resin at full size.