Lost Donatello Sculpture Discovered in Slovakia Raises Questions About Authenticity and Heritage
A bust attributed to Renaissance master Donatello has re-emerged in Slovakia after falling into obscurity following World War II, but the country's nationalist government has sparked anger by stowing it away in a ministry building.
The sculpture of Italian noblewoman Cecilia Gonzaga spent centuries in a manor house in central Slovakia, whose owners, the noble Csaky family, left it behind when they fled the advancing World War II front in 1945.
Moved about and ultimately forgotten in the aftermath, it was sitting in a depository at the Spis Museum in the eastern town of Levoca when art historian Marta Herucova stumbled across it.
The bust had been marked "unknown author". But Herucova noticed the base was inscribed with the words: "Ceciliae Gonzagae opvs Donatelli" (Cecilia Gonzaga, a work by Donatello).
If confirmed, it would be only the eighth artwork signed by the Italian Renaissance sculptor to be discovered worldwide.
Herucova made the find in 2019, but it was only announced in February -- surprising the country.
"Who would expect an original Donatello to appear in Slovakia?" former museum director Maria Novotna told AFP.
But the bust is now a subject of controversy.
Nationalist Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova decided to remove it from the museum and bring it to an unknown location in late May, citing security concerns.
The move dismayed critics and art historians, who say the bust needs expert conservation and research to confirm if it is really by Donatello (1386-1466).
Slovak art historian Marta Herucova poses for a picture in Bratislava, Slovakia on April 28, 2025. A marble bust attributed to Italian Renaissance artist Donatello depicting Cecilia Gonzaga, a known Italian noblewoman, had spent centuries in a former manor house in central Slovakia, whose owners, the noble Csaky family, left the bust behind when they fled the advancing World War II front in 1945. Later, it was moved to the Spis Museum in Levoca. Art historian Marta Herucova in 2019 found the work marked "unknown author" while working on the museum's 19th-century collection. She suspected forgery, but the material, details, and the inscription were all too telling. If confirmed, the statue would only be the eighth signed Donatello artwork discovered worldwide. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP)
- 'Second expropriation' -
A group of cultural sector representatives including Count Moritz Csaky has meanwhile lobbied for the bust to go on display.
Csaky said in a statement on Monday that his family did not make any claim for restitution but cautioned "against individual artefacts becoming the plaything of power-political or commercial speculations".
"I hope that the bust will not become the victim of a second expropriation and will once again find a dignified and honourable place in the Spis Museum," he added.
The bust has an epic backstory.
After the Csaky family fled, Soviet troops looted their house, which then became a juvenile detention centre for girls after the communist government took over what was then Czechoslovakia in 1948.
The girls played with the bust and even defined its eyes with blue pen, said Peter Cizmar, the son of a former guardian.
In 1975, artwork still surviving at the centre was moved to the nearby Spis Museum.
Attributed to an unknown 19th-century artist, the bust "was put in a depository and had not left it since", said former director Novotna, an art historian.
Novotna was in charge of the museum catalogue as a young woman, and now regrets she did not have time to research the item as she was swamped with work.
- Dinner companion -
In 2019, Herucova was working on the museum's 19th-century collection when she found the piece.
"The bust just came up," she said.
After noticing the inscription, she started in-depth research.
She suspected forgery, but the material, details and inscription were all too telling, she said.
"Even artists who made Renaissance-style busts never signed them in the name of the original author," Herucova told AFP.
She wrote about the finding in the French art history magazine Revue de l'Art, waiting for someone to contest the bust's origin -- which has not happened.
Herucova also contacted Csaky, who had no clear recollection of its origin either, as his family left for Vienna when he was 11.
But he did recall seeing the bust on a porch where the family dined in summer.
"He said there used to be two original Gothic statues next to it, which are also in the museum today," Herucova said.
- 'Safe and protected' -
Herucova also contacted Italian art history professor Francesco Caglioti, who voiced doubt about the authorship but declined to elaborate.
She is now pinning hopes on research in cooperation with foreign institutions.
But for now, the bust is hidden away.
Simkovicova, the culture minister who ordered it be moved with the help of a police commando, said it was "now safe and protected".
Police chief Jana Maskarova later said the bust was at an interior ministry centre in Topolcianky, central Slovakia.
Simkovicova promised to display the bust when "conditions are favourable".
Herucova hopes the ministry will not try to revamp the bust, which should retain its patina, she said.
"It's supposed to go to a professional place where they know how to do lab analyses." —AFP
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