Self-Portrait

Entry

This is a unique, painted plaster version of the self-portrait of Giambologna (1529-1608), acquired from the same Amsterdam dealer together with a bronze version finished fully in the round (see the entry on BK-15117 for the attribution and interpretation). As far as the model is concerned, the plaster is identical to the bronze except that it is flat on the back and mounted on a slate background like a relief. Minimal differences, such as the absence in the plaster of the scratches and dents in the bronze, make it unlikely that it is a cast after the bronze. This is confirmed by the exact correspondence in dimensions between the two little portraits: since plaster shrinks on drying the plaster figure would have to be slightly smaller than the bronze. The identical dimensions seem to indicate that both were taken from the original wax model and therefore the plaster could have also come from Giambologna’s workshop. It is slightly less meticulously finished than the bronze – small casting lines are visible here and there, although they are largely obscured by the polychromy.

Painted and mounted on slate, this portrait reflects the sixteenth-century veristic tradition of small portraits in coloured wax and of painted terracottas, one of the most important examples being the self-portrait by Johan Gregor van der Schardt (BK-2000-17). In this context, noteworthy is that there also exists a miniature portrait of Grand Duke Francesco de’ Medici in the guise of Mars, which has been associated with Giambologna on convincing grounds.¹ This portrait is only a few centimetres bigger than the Amsterdam self-portrait and is in painted terracotta, with glass eyes. On the reverse, it bears the inscription Gian Bologna FRANCESCO I DE MEDICI + 1587. Accordingly, one cannot exclude the possibility that the large Giambologna workshop – in addition to bronzes cast after the master’s models – also produced casts and partial casts in plaster or terracotta that could subsequently be painted to achieve a more natural effect.

Frits Scholten, 2024
An earlier version of this entry was published in F. Scholten, M. Verber et al., From Vulcan’s Forge: Bronzes from the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam 1450-1800, exh. cat. London (Daniel Katz Ltd.)/Vienna (Liechtenstein Museum) 2005-06, no. 21 (ii)