Thursday, June 23, 2016

Modern and Ancient Marbles at the Prado

attributed to Pietro Taca
Polychrome Bust of King Philip IV
17th century
marble
Prado

Spanish sculptor
Bust of María Ignacia Álvarez de Toledo y Gonzaga Caracciolo
18th century
marble
Prado

This group of Prado marbles ranges across many European regions and ages and styles. They are united by a certain consistent reverence for the material itself  By the middle of the 19th century, the earth's supply of best-quality sculptural marble had been exhausted. After that happened, marble sculpture retreated ingloriously to the realm of kitsch (as the final image in this series illustrates).

Fra Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli
Bust of Emperor Charles V
1541
marble
Prado

Italian sculptor
Relief medallion of the Emperor Titus
16th century
marble
Prado

Italian sculptor
Bust of Emperor Vitellius
17th century
marble
Prado

Italian sculptor
Bust of a young Roman girl
17th-18th century
marble
Prado

Roman sculptor
Relief of Prometheus and Athena creating the first man
ca. AD 185
marble
Prado

Roman sculptor
Relief of a satyr tending sacred fire at an altar
ca. 25 BC
marble
Prado

Roman sculptor
Relief of Dionysiac dance with Maenad and Satyr
ca. 50-40 BC
marble
Prado

Greek Ionic sculptor
Youth
1st century BC
marble
Prado

Roman sculptor
Bust of Achilles
ca. AD 100-150
marble
Prado

Roman sculptor
Head of Apollo
ca. AD 120-130
marble
Prado

Italian sculptor
Bacchus
17th century
marble
Prado

José Álvarez Cubero
Youth with Swan
ca. 1817
marble
Prado