But, then, wasn't all mankind created from clay? - bust of Giuliano de' Medici by Verrocchio, circa 1475-1478

Since 1937 in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, which describes the history of the portrait thusly:

Verrocchio, a favorite artist of the Medici, may have created this lively and commanding portrait on the occasion of a joust that took place in 1475 in Florence for Giuliano de' Medici's coming of age. The bust was originally painted and possibly adorned with a metal helmet and other decoration, projecting an exuberance especially evident in the winged face modeled on Giuliano's fanciful armor. The beloved younger brother of the de facto ruler of Florence, Lorenzo the Magnificent, Giuliano was destined for an important future, a hope cut off by his dramatic murder during mass in Florence's cathedral, on April 26, 1478, in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow Medici rule.

Also in the National Gallery is Botticelli's portrait of Giuliano de' Medici; circa 1478-80, it was likely created posthumously. Supporting that theory is the open window and mourning dove, artistic devices which were common symbols of death, alluding to the flight of the soul and the deceased's passage to the afterlife.