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Head of a Faun

Head of a Faun is a lost work by Michelangelo from around 1489, when he was only 15 or 16 years old. It was probably his first marble sculpture and may have been made as a copy of an ancient model. According to Giorgio Vasari, the work helped win Michelangelo the patronage of Lorenzo de’ Medici. Vasari also tells the famous story of Lorenzo visiting the garden of San Marco, seeing the faun’s face, and suggesting that some teeth should be missing in an old face; Michelangelo then knocked out a tooth with hammer and chisel. The theme was later recalled by Cesare Zocchi, who created a marble sculpture showing the young artist at work on the faun’s head, now in the Casa Buonarroti in Florence.

White circular relief sculpture of the Head of a Faun with a grinning face, pointed ears, and curly beard and hair.
Head of a Faun relief sculpture with a grinning face, pointed ears, and curly beard.
© · CC BY-SA 3.0
Round relief sculpture of a faun’s head with a wrinkled brow, wide grin, short beard, and pointed ears.
Head of a Faun shown as a reddish-brown relief with deeply carved, expressive features.
May 2026 © · CC0
White marble bust of the Head of a Faun with curly hair and pointed ears, shown on a wooden stand among several people.
The Head of a Faun marble bust displayed on a wooden stand, with viewers gathered around it.
October 2014 © · Public domain
White marble head of a faun with small horns displayed on a wooden stand, with a young man and other figures in the background fresco.
The Head of a Faun shown as a white marble bust on a wooden stand, seen within a frescoed scene.
September 2013 © · CC BY 3.0
A small sculpted head of a faun with a beard is held among figures in a painted scene.
A painted scene showing a man and attendants examining a small Head of a Faun sculpture.
September 2013 © · CC BY 3.0

Identification

TitleHead of a Faun
Original titlesDer Kopf eines Fauns; Cabeza de fauno; A Cabeça de Fauno; Testa di Fauno; "Голова фа́вна"
TypeLost marble sculpture
SubjectA faun

Historical context

Datec. 1488–1492
Creation contextMade by Michelangelo during his youth while apprenticed in Florence, in the gardens of San Marco / the Medici Sculpture Garden, under Bertoldo di Giovanni and associated with Lorenzo de' Medici

Creator

ArtistMichelangelo Buonarroti
Artist nationalityItalian
Artist's age at creationAbout 13–16 years old

Discovery and provenance

Model or sourceCopied from an ancient sculpture, described as an ancient head or fragment of a laughing old wrinkled faun with a snub nose; some sources say with minor alterations or from imagination where the model was missing
Attribution certaintyBelieved to be Michelangelo's, but the sculpture's existence and exact original are disputed; no evidence survives apart from Vasari and Condivi's accounts

Physical characteristics

ConditionLost; no longer survives
FormHead sculpture / bust

Materials

MaterialMarble

Appearance

Facial featuresA laughing or smiling old faun, described as wrinkled and bearded, with a damaged or snub nose
Mouth detailThe mouth was shown open, with the tongue and teeth visible; Michelangelo reportedly chipped away one tooth and hollowed the gums to make it more lifelike

Technique

Modification of modelMichelangelo altered the antique model by opening the mouth and adjusting the teeth and gums; some accounts describe the mouth as recreated from imagination because it was missing in the source

Significance

SignificanceConsidered Michelangelo's earliest known marble sculpture and, according to Vasari and Condivi, his first documented work
Historical importanceAccording to Vasari, the work brought Michelangelo under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici

History and restoration

Anecdote with Lorenzo de' MediciLorenzo de' Medici saw the work, joked that old people do not have perfect teeth, and Michelangelo immediately removed one tooth, amusing and impressing Lorenzo
FateProbably disappeared in 1494 during the sack of the Medici property and second expulsion of the Medici from Florence; later sources already treated it as lost
Later identification attemptsA faun head in the Bargello was identified with the work from the 17th century until 1860, when it was redated to the 16th century or later; it was dispersed in 1944 and survives only in plaster casts
Related later workCesare Zocchi made a marble sculpture showing the young Michelangelo working on the Head of a Faun; it is kept at Casa Buonarroti in Florence and was copied by the Romanelli workshop
Related scholarshipProposed identifications with a Bargello mask, a bust of a cyclops, and the Uffizi red head of Marsyas were later rejected or remain uncertain