A bust by renowned Florentine sculptor Donatello has been discovered in a museum storeroom in Slovakia, local newspaper SME reported on Wednesday.
For decades, the 15th-century marble bust lay unnoticed in the storage room of a museum in Levoca, eastern Slovakia, labelled as the work of an unknown artist. Experts have now identified it as a unique piece and plan to put it on public display next autumn.
The breakthrough came after extensive research by art historian Marta Herucova of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. According to SME, she is now almost certain that the bust was created by Donatello and depicts Cecilia Gonzaga.
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The sculpture, crafted in Florence in the mid-15th century, reached Slovakia through the Gonzaga family’s ties with the Csaky family. The bust was originally kept at Spissky Hrhov Castle, the Csaky family home, which later became a reformatory for girls.
“We know from testimonies that girls played with the bust, sometimes using it as a ball, and even drew lines around its eyes with a pen,” said Maria Novotna, former director of the Spis Museum. She initiated research on the piece, which was initially thought to be a 19th-century copy.
Herucova began investigating the bust in 2019, consulting experts from Florentine museums that house other works by Donatello. One of them, Dr Giovanni Serafini, reportedly stated that it was “99.9 percent Donatello.”
Comparisons were made with Donatello’s known works, including the tombstone of Antipope John XXIII in Florence. Herucova also contacted art historian Moritz Csaky who recalled the bust’s presence at the castle.
A significant detail is that the sculpture bears a signature. This is a rare feature among Donatello’s works, with only seven known examples.
