# Pietro Mellini [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [MAIANO, Benedetto da]() - Date: 1451-1500 - Technique: Marble, height 53 cm ## Commentary Benedetto da Maiano developed into an effective portraitist in the Rossellino shop. This dated bust preserves the wizened features of Mellini, a wealthy merchant, who also commissioned a pulpit with scenes of St Francis for Santa Croce. Benedetto created a prose-like approach to the minutiae of appearence, paralleled in paint by Ghirlandaio. Here Benedetto displays an unsparing verism, portraying every wrinkle in the roadmap of Mellini's face. The slightly pursed, sceptical lips betray the bemusement of a basically genial but careful man. ## Related artworks - [Altarpiece of the Annunciation \(detail\)]() - [Altarpiece of the Annunciation \(detail\)]() - [Altarpiece of the Annunciation]() - [Altarpiece of the Annunciation]() - [Altarpiece of the Annunciation]() - [Christ and the Samarian Woman]() - [Confirmation of the Franciscan Order]() - [Filippo Strozzi]() - [Filippo Strozzi]() - [Giotto Epitaph]() - [Interior of the Chapel St Fina]() - [Madonna and Child \(detail\)]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()