 Conceived fully in the round, independent of any architectural surroundings, and largely representing an allegory of the civic virtues triumphing over brutality and irrationality, it is arguably the first major work of Renaissance sculpture.It was a commissioned by Cosimo de' Medici for the courtyard of his Palazzo Medici, but its date remains the subject of debate.It is most often dated to the 1440s, but dates as later as the 1460s have support from some scholars.