Head of a Man (1520–25): Art, History and Details

Head of a Man (1520–25) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Michel Colombe (French, c. 1430–c. 1513).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The original context and function of these two marble heads are unknown. They are presumed to have been part of a relief sculpture from a château, perhaps in the Loire region, or else from a tomb sculpture. Their style is reminiscent of sculptures produced by Michel Colombe, a prominent sculptor active in the Loire Valley in the service of aristocratic and royal patrons, and may have been carved by a close follower or member of his workshop.

Object facts

• Title: Head of a Man
• Date: 1520–25
• Creator attribution: Michel Colombe (French, c. 1430–c. 1513)
• Culture: France
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: marble
• Dimensions: Overall: 14 x 12.2 x 8 cm (5 1/2 x 4 13/16 x 3 1/8 in.)
• Collection: MED - Renaissance
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1921.1003

Collection credit

Gift of William G. Mather

Further reading listed by the museum

• "Head of a Man." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 9, no. 1 (January 1922): 2-17.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1925.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1928.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.