A long-overlooked marble bust in a small-town museum could be a rare signed work by Donatello, experts claim. The attribution makes the 15th-century sculpture, once mistaken for a 19th-century imitation and even used as a toy by schoolchildren, one of the few works by the Renaissance artist outside of Italy. Its discovery has also raised questions about its preservation.
This phenomenally unlikely find was uncovered in Levoča, Slovakia where one of only eight signed works by the artist had apparently been hiding for centuries. When Mária Novotná, director of the local Spiš Museum, spotted Donatello’s name on the marble bust of a young woman held in the museum’s collection, she sent it for further examination at the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS) in Bratislava. Experts are now almost sure that the sculpture is by the famed Florentine genius, according to the Slovak Spectator, which first reported the news.
The 15th-century bust, which depicts the Italian noblewoman Cecilia Gonzaga, most likely made its way to the eastern European country thanks to strong ties between the Gonzagas of Mantua and the Csáky family, who had previously owned the sculpture. The connection between the two families has been traced back to the 17th century, although it remains unclear when the sculpture changed hands.
The piece was kept at Csákys’ stately home in Spišsky Hrhov for centuries. After World War II, the mansion was converted into a reformatory school for girls. There, the artwork became a plaything for the students, according to Novotná. The bust was rolled around like a ball and given makeovers. The girls “once even drew eyeliner around its eyes,” she told the Spectator.
It wasn’t until 1975 that the sculpture arrived at the Spiš Museum, where it was initially catalogued as a 19th-century imitation and left to linger in storage. It was only upon paying closer attention to the inscription of “Opus Donatelli” on the base that Novotná began to wonder about the piece’s real identity. The signature appeared to match those on seven other Donatello works, including Judith and Holofernes (1457–64) at the Palazzao Vecchio in Florence, Italy.
Over his lifetime, Donatello’s talents took him from humble beginnings as an apprentice goldsmith to become a renowned artist and intimate of the powerful Medici family. The Florentine master is celebrated to this day as one of history’s greatest sculptors for his reinvention of historical influences, including Classical antiquity and elegant medieval art. These were incorporated into impressively novel works in marble, wood, bronze, terracotta, and stucco.
The bulk of the research into the Gonzaga bust’s authenticity was carried out by art historian Marta Herucova at SAS, who also consulted Dr. Giovanni Serafini of the Opera del Duomo in Florence, who strongly supported the attribution to Donatello. There, experts compared the bust with known works by the artist, including the tombstone of antipope John XXIII in the Florence Baptistry adjacent to the Duomo, which was created by Donatello and Michellozzo between 1422 and 1428; it is considered to be the first Renaissance-style tomb.
Yet the shock announcement last month has raised questions about how the now priceless artwork should be handled and displayed. So far, the work has not yet been put on public view and can only be seen in a 3D scan. The bust is currently being carefully guarded, and Slovak media outlets have speculated as to whether such a treasure would be safe in the country’s current museum system.
In particular, it is not clear that the local Levoča museum has the required expertise to care for the piece. Novotná, its former director was recently dismissed, reportedly without any explanation, according to the Spectator.
The museum did not respond to a request for comment.
Last August, thousands spoke out against Slovakia’s new nationalist culture minister, Martina Šimkovičová, following her dismissal of Slovak National Theater director Matej Drlička and Slovak National Gallery director Alexandra Kusá within two days. Since her appointment, Šimkovičová has overseen widespread layoffs in cultural institutions, replacing staff with “unqualified” officials, according to the cultural activist platform Otvorena Kultura!, which also claims the government plans to transfer artworks to private ownership.
