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| Lucas Vorsterman after Peter Paul Rubens Bust of Plato ca. 1620 etching, engraving British Museum |
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| Lucas Vorsterman after Peter Paul Rubens Herm-Bust of Plato ca. 1638 engraving British Museum |
In the 17th century, Roman busts (or mounted heads) were most actively pursued by collectors in either of two dominant categories – the Philosophers-Sage and the Ruler-Statesman. Likenesses of the few historical super-stars such as Julius Caesar were fairly consistent. Images of lesser politicians and most of the sages suffered from shifting features and shifting identities. Most of the original artifacts reproduced here had been collected by Peter Paul Rubens and were displayed together in his house in Antwerp. There, he drew them himself and arranged for his assistants to follow up the drawings with engravings. Captions used here repeat names assigned to the heads by Rubens and his minions, though several now carry other and different names on their labels, or none. Our ancestors could not tolerate a piece of sculpture without a fixed identity, but modern minds have learned to expect less.
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| Lucas Vorsterman after Peter Paul Rubens Bust of Marcus Junius Brutus 1638 engraving British Museum |
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| Lucas Vorsterman after Peter Paul Rubens Bust of Seneca ca. 1620 etching British Museum |
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| Lucas Vorsterman after Peter Paul Rubens Bust of Seneca 1638 engraving British Museum |
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| Cornelis Galle after Peter Paul Rubens Bust of Seneca ca. 1615 engraving British Museum |
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| Paulus Pontius after Peter Paul Rubens Antique Bust of Nero ca. 1638 engraving British Museum |
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| Paulus Pontius after Peter Paul Rubens Herm-Bust of Sophocles, the philosopher 1638 engraving British Museum |
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| Paulus Pontius after PeterPaul Rubens Antique Bust of Scipio Africanus 1635 engraving British Museum |
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| Jan Witdoeck after Peter Paul Rubens Herm-Bust of Demosthenes 1638 engraving British Museum |
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| Jan Witdoeck after Peter Paul Rubens Antique Bust of Cicero ca. 1638 engraving British Museum |
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| Adamsz Bolswert Boetius after Peter Paul Rubens Antique Bust of Julius Caesar ca. 1633 engraving British Museum |
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| Paulus Pontius after Peter Paul Rubens Antique Bust of Socrates ca. 1638 engraving British Museum |
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| Jan de Bisschop after Paulus Pontius after Peter Paul Rubens Antique Bust of Socrates ca. 1672 engraving British Museum |
I am grateful to the British Museum for the excellent reproductions.