In Love with Laura – A Mystery in Marble

It wasn’t just Petrarch. The mysterious Laura, subject of more than 300 love lyrics by the Renaissance poet, also became a (posthumous) muse to many artists over the course of the 15th century. Whether one of these was the Dalmation sculptor Francesco Laurana, whose polychrome marble bust has long been thought to depict Laura, is the question posed by this display at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (20 June–15 October). Considered one of the most significant works of Renaissance portrait sculpture, Laurana’s Female Bust (c. 1490) is one of very few known coloured marble busts from the period. The sculpture will go on show alongside additional works that aim to capture Laura’s likeness, including Giorgione’s Laura (1506) from the Frick Collection in New York. Find out more on the Kunsthistoriches Museum’s website.

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Female Bust (c. 1490), Francesco Laurana. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Photo: © KHM-Museumsverband

Female bust (c. 1490), Francesco Laurana. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Photo: © KHM-Museumsverband

Female bust (c. 1490), Francesco Laurana. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Photo: © KHM-Museumsverband