Caproni Collection

Who does the best face?! As the legend goes, this piece is purportedly Michelangelo’s first marble sculpture. According to his biographers Ascanio Condivi and Giorgio Vasari, Michelangelo was studying in the gardens of Lorenzo de Medici, “il Magnifico”, at around the age of fifteen. He was intrigued by an ancient work of a faun’s head, and decided to make a copy of it. He imagined the parts of the face that were missing from the ancient piece, such as the mouth. While he worked, Lorenzo noted that the old faun likely wouldn’t have so many teeth, so Michelangelo changed the appearance of the open mouth. Lorenzo at that point became Michelangelo’s patron. His sculpture has since been lost, as has a mask of the head that was once in the Bargello National Museum in Florence. A 19th century sculpture by Emilio Zocchi depicting Michelangelo sculpting the faun can also be found in our collection as Item 32.