Attributed to Antonio D'Este, portrait of a gentleman, marble Antonio D'Este (attr.) (Venice 1754 - Rome 1837) PORTRAIT OF A GENTLEMAN marble bust, 78x65x40 cm The sculpture depicts a larger-than-life man, elegantly dressed in a double-breasted jacket, shirt with a broad puff and bandaged collar, his attentive gaze turned towards the front. Dating from around the first quarter of the 19th century, it is traditionally attributed to the Venetian sculptor Antonio D'Este. Trained together with Antonio Canova, to whom he was later bound by deep friendship, he specialised in the portrait genre, but his fame is mainly linked to his biography of his friend Antonio Canova, published posthumously in 1864. This bust shows how the artist's production, at first aimed at naturalistic modes, in this phase veers towards more idealising outcomes: here the sculptor lingers in the description of the hair and long sideburns, which frame the face with its confident and serene expression, as well as in the definition of the clothing.