La Fiducia in Dio, Trust in God, 1835, marble, life-size, Museo Poldi-Pezzoli, Milan

The original life-size marble (91 cm.) now in the Museo Poldi-Pezzoli, Milan, was carved for Bartolini's close patron Contessa Rosa Trivulzio Podi in 1834. As a widow the subject was personified as symbolic of the hope that remained after the loss of her husband. Despite its specific intention, La Fiducia in Dio quickly became widely admired as one of Bartolini's seminal works, its origins in the intimacy of the sculptor's studio veiled by its religious title. A reduced version (46 cm.) is in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence.