Zuccone
statue by Donatello

Lo Zuccone (Italian pronunciation: [lo dzukˈkoːne]; transl. the large head – transl. the bald head) is the popular name given to a marble statue by Donatello. It was commissioned for the bell tower of the Cathedral of Florence, Italy and completed between 1423 and 1425. It is also known as the Statue of the Prophet Habakkuk (Italian: Statua del Profeta Abacuc), as many believe it depicts the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk, though Vasari says that it is a portrait (in Biblical garb) of Giovanni di Barduccio Cherichini.
This statue is known for its realism and naturalism, which differed from most statuary commissioned at the time. Lo Zuccone is reported to have been Donatello's favorite, and he has been claimed to swear by the sculpture, "By the faith I place in my zuccone." Donatello is said to have shouted "speak, damn you, speak!" at the marble as he was carving it. It has been described as the most important marble sculpture of the fifteenth century. It is now in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence.
“Zuccone” enters the record as statue by Donatello. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Zuccone, statue and Donatello can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1636061. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1423 and 1425.
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This entry incorporates text from “Zuccone” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.