Maria Martelli, Wife of Baltasar Suares

Artist Attributed to Giovanni Battista Caccini (Italian, 1556-1613)

Place of OriginFlorence, Italy

Dateabout 1590-1599

DimensionsH: 27 3/8 in. (67 cm); W: 19 5/8 in. (50 cm); Depth: 6 1/4 in. (16 cm)

MediumMarble

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1977.37

Not on View

Label TextBaltasar Suares was a Portuguese member of the court of Grand Duke Cosimo de’ Medici in Florence. He rose to even greater prominence when he married Maria Martelli, the sister of Cosimo’s second wife. These marble relief portraits were probably displayed high on a wall of Suares’ palace or in the family chapel. On the underside of each is a cartouche (ornamental frame) carved with the couple’s names and positions—Baltasar is identified as a “bailiff of Florence,” Maria as Baltasar’s wife. The deeply carved and amazingly thin ruffs of the collars show the technical mastery of the sculptor, as well as creating dramatic plays of light and shadow. Curiously, the two profiles face the same way instead of facing each other, as was standard for husband and wife portraits. These may have been part of a set, paired with two other portraits—perhaps of their children—facing right.Published References"La chronique des arts," Gazette Des Beaux-Arts, vol. 91, no. 1310, March 1978, p. 96.Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, The Museum Collects: Treasures by Sculptors and Craftsmen, December 7, 1980-January 25, 1981, pp. 14-15, repr.