A pair of beautifully carved 15th-century marble cherubs have been found in the castle town of Visegrád in Hungary.
Archaeologists came across the exquisitely carved heads with angelic wings during investigations into a centuries-old church belonging to a Franciscan monastery, which was found buried beneath a tennis court.
Thought to have originally been part of a marble arch, archaeologists from the Visegrád Renaissance group said the cherubs were the work of an Italian Renaissance master.
Posting on Facebook, they said: “The sculpture console decorated with two cherubic figures brought to the surface is without a doubt the work of Benedetto da Maiano, who is considered to be one of the most significant masters of quattrocento sculpture in late Florence.”
Professor Francesco Caglioti from the University of Pisa added: “The excavated carvings, particularly the almost intact cherubic heads, display many of the feathers, hair, and facial features, as well as the drapery of the fragmentary angel statues, which are exact copies of those found on Benedetto da Maiano’s mature works.”
Born in 1442 in Tuscany, Italy, Benedetto da Maiano was an influential sculptor celebrated for his detailed and expressive works in wood and marble.
Included among his notable creations is the marble pulpit in the Santa Croce in Florence.
Receiving a commission from King Matthias of Hungary, who was keen to make Hungary a center of Renaissance art and culture, Benedetto was invited to Buda, where he then crafted the cherubs.
The monastery where they were discovered was founded by King Sigismund in A.D. 1425.
Thought to have originally been part of a marble arch, archaeologists from the Visegrád Renaissance group said the cherubs were the work of an Italian Renaissance master.
Posting on Facebook, they said: “The sculpture console decorated with two cherubic figures brought to the surface is without a doubt the work of Benedetto da Maiano, who is considered to be one of the most significant masters of quattrocento sculpture in late Florence.”
Professor Francesco Caglioti from the University of Pisa added: “The excavated carvings, particularly the almost intact cherubic heads, display many of the feathers, hair, and facial features, as well as the drapery of the fragmentary angel statues, which are exact copies of those found on Benedetto da Maiano’s mature works.”
Born in 1442 in Tuscany, Italy, Benedetto da Maiano was an influential sculptor celebrated for his detailed and expressive works in wood and marble.
Included among his notable creations is the marble pulpit in the Santa Croce in Florence.
Receiving a commission from King Matthias of Hungary, who was keen to make Hungary a center of Renaissance art and culture, Benedetto was invited to Buda, where he then crafted the cherubs.
The monastery where they were discovered was founded by King Sigismund in A.D. 1425.
