One of the most beautiful tomb effigies ever sculpted was this one of Ilaria del Caretto of Lucca, by the artist Jacopo della Quercia in 1413. Ilaria’s fate was not, alas, so uncommon. She married at the age of 24 and died at 26 after giving birth to her second child. It was common practice among the noble classes to give a baby to a wet nurse so that the wife could return to fertility immediately and conceive again quickly. This practice led to the early deaths of many young women whose bodies could not endure the physical demands placed on them. She rests today in a chapel of the Cathedral of Lucca, admired by many, but not often pitied for her short life. Della Quercia may have made her sort of immortal, but she died before her time.