Subjects for sculpture: portrait busts

Funerary monuments and portrait busts were the most common ways in which people were commemorated in sculpture. Sometimes the two were combined: a bust was placed on a funerary monument, or a copy of a bust on a church monument was displayed in the family house. The likeness might be taken from life or a death mask, or from some other source, such as a painting.

The way in which the male sitter was portrayed could signify his professional or aristocratic status; ancient Roman dress might imply his role in public life. Women were more rarely depicted, and often only in their role as the wife of an aristocratic husband.

Terracotta portrait of Eugénie Maria Wynne, by Aimé-Jules Dalou, 1875. Museum no. A.2-1984

Marble bust of Charles II (1630–85) by Honoré Pelle, 1684. Museum No. 239-1881

Marble bust of Cassandra Sirigatti, by Ridolfo Sirigatti, 1578. Museum no. A.13-1961

Cast and gilded bronze bust of Pope Sixtus V, by Bastiano Torrigiani, 1585-90. Museum no. A.40:0, 1-1950

Marble bust of Thomas Baker by Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini. Museum no. A.63:1, 2-1921

Marble portrait of Charles I (reigned 1625–49), by Hubert Le Sueur, 1631. Museum no. A.35-1910