This exhibition focusses on a central work of European sculpture: Francesco Laurana’s (c. 1430–1502) Female Bust at the Kunstkammer Wien.
It is one of the few Renaissance marble busts with colouring. The work is one of the most significant creations of fifteenth century portrait sculpture. This small but prestigiously appointed exhibition is set to rekindle public interest in the exceptional importance of this object, which has somewhat fallen into oblivion in the last decades. The exhibition will be the first to showcase a thesis formulated some time ago that this is a portrait of the mysterious Laura who was so deeply (but unhappily) beloved by the Italian Renaissance poet Petrarch. Petrarch wrote over three hundred touching poems for Laura in the fourteenth century.
Next to masterpieces from the Kunsthistorisches Museum like Giorgione’s painting Laura, the exhibition will feature international loans from the Frick Collection in New York and the Biblioteca Laurenziana in Florence.
KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM WIEN
Built by Karl Hasenauer and Gottfried von Semper between 1871 and 1891, the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien ranks among the most renowned museums in the world. Its magnificent architecture provides a worthy setting for collections the Habsburgs built over centuries. These encompass objects from five millennia, i.e. from the time of Ancient Egypt to the end of the 18th century.
In Love with Laura - A Mystery in Marble
20 Jun 2023 - 15 Oct 2023
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Maria-Theresien-Platz, Wien, Österreich
