Cosimo III de' Medici commissioned this striking sculpture from Carlo Marcellini, who was working at the Academy of Sculpture in Palazzo Madama in Rome. The artist shows Galileo with his head slightly turned toward the right with respect to the central axis of the bust. In his right hand, beneath the fold of his cloak, he holds two of the instruments that had most contributed to his renown: the geometric and military compass and the telescope.