The Entombment

Valerio Belli

Associated Names
Valerio Belli

Artist, Italian, 1468 - 1546

The sculpture depicts multiple figures gathered around a central seated figure who is in a reclining position. The central figure has long hair and is unclothed except for a draped cloth around the waist. Surrounding the central figure are other figures in various poses, some standing and some bending towards the central figure. Above them, two winged figures are depicted in a flying posture holding a central object between them. The sculpture is oval-shaped and crafted from a material resembling bronze. The relief work provides depth and texture to the figures and their garments, capturing intricate folds and expressions. At the bottom, there is an inscribed Latin text framed by decorative elements.

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On View

West Building Ground Floor, Gallery G16

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    bronze//Yellowish patina

  • Credit Line

    Samuel H. Kress Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (oval): 8.5 x 6 cm (3 3/8 x 2 3/8 in.) gross weight: 126 gr

  • Accession Number

    1957.14.494

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Gustave Dreyfus [1837-1914], Paris; his estate; purchased 1930 by (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London and New York); purchased 1945 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York; gift 1957 to NGA.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1886

  • Molinier, Émile. Les Bronzes de la Renaissance. Les Plaquettes; Catalogue Raisonné. 2 vols. Paris, 1886:, 1:200-201, no. 278.

1908

  • Migeon, Gaston. "La collection de M. Gustave Dreyfus, V: Les plaquettes." Les Arts 80 (August 1908): 28, fig. 6.

1931

  • Ricci, Seymour de. The Gustave Dreyfus Collection. Reliefs and Plaquettes. Oxford, 1931. vol. II, 246-247, no. 360, pl. 104.

1951

  • National Gallery of Art. Renaissance Bronzes: Statuettes, Reliefs and Plaquettes, Medals and Coins from the Kress Collection. Introduction by Perry B. Cott. Washington, 1951: 156.

1965

  • Pope-Hennessy, John W. Renaissance Bronzes from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: Reliefs, Plaquettes, Statuettes, Utensils and Mortars. London, 1965: 10, no. 12, fig. 359.

1997

  • Banzato, Davide, Maria Beltramini, and Davide Gasparatto, eds. Placchette, bronzetti e cristalli incisi dei Musei Civici di Vicenza, secoli XV-XVIII. Vicenza, 1997: 75.

2003

  • Avagnina, Maria Elisa, Margaret Binotto, and Giovanni Carlo Federico Villa, eds. Pinacoteca civica di Vicenza: catalogo scientifico delle collezioni. Milan, 2003: 3:230.

Inscriptions

across bottom on cartouche in exergue: CHVIVS.LIVORE / SANATI. SVMVS.

Wikidata ID

Q63815271

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