YOUNG MICHELANGELO SCULPTING THE HEAD OF A FAUN, AFTER EMILIO ZOCCHI

This sculpture is a high quality replica of the renown sculpture by Emilio Zocchi “Michelangelo fanciullo sculpting the head of a faun”. The sculpture represents the well known episode when Michelangelo, about 15 years old and working at garden of San Marco, copied the head of an old faun from an antique model. He showed his work to Lorenzo il Magnifico who jokingly criticized it saying that the work was not realistic since no old fauns had ever had such good teeth. So Michelangelo modified his work chipping off the teeth. He showed his sculpture to Lorenzo again who recognized his talent and accepted the young sculptor within his house at Palazzo Medici Riccardi.