A BUST OF A LITTLE BOY, according to da Settignano, bronze, France (?), 2nd half of the 19th century

A great example of Italian Renaissance sculpture with an interesting history. The prototype was made in marble in the years 1455-1460 by the Florentine sculptor Desiderio da Settignano .Art historians have put forward various hypotheses; portrayed was identified as St. Jan. Due to the masterful workshop, many of his works were attributed to Donatello in the 19th century. The bust of a little boy was purchased in Italy in the 1840s by Eugene Piot. In the following decades, it passed into the hands of other Parisian collectors, and in 1936 it was transferred to the USA. The following year, it joined the NGA collection in Washington.