A History of Art for Beginners and Students: Painting, Sculpture, ArchitectureWaters, Clara Erskine Clement
History
A History of Art for Beginners and Students: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture
Waters, Clara Erskine Clement
Art -- History
GUILLAUME COUSTOU (1678-1746), brother of Nicolas, also gained the grand
prize and went to Rome, and on his return made a fine reputation. Much
of his best work was for the gardens of Marly; he executed a bronze
statue of the Rhone at Lyons; a bas-relief of Christ with the Doctors,
at Versailles, and statues of Louis XIV. and Cardinal Dubois, in the
Museum of French Monuments.
JEAN BAPTISTE PIGALLE (1714-1785) is the last French sculptor of whom I
shall speak here. He was born in Paris, and gained his first fame by a
statue of Mercury; but his masterpiece was the tomb of Marshal Moritz of
Saxony, in the Church of St. Thomas, at Strasburg. The soldier is
represented in his own costume, just as he wore it in life, about to
enter a tomb, on one side of which stands a skeleton Death, and on the
other a mourning Hercules. A statue representing France tries to hold
him back, and a Genius attends on him with an inverted torch. There are
many accessories of military emblems and trophies. There have been
several engravings made from this tomb, the best part of which is the
figure of the Marshal.
Pigalle was a favorite with Mme. Pompadour, of whom he made a portrait
statue. She employed him to do many works for her. His best monument in
Paris is that of the Comte d'Harcourt, in the Church of Notre Dame.
In the Netherlands, as in Italy, the painting of the time had a great
effect upon sculpture, and it was full of energy, like the pictures of
the Rubens school; at the same time there remained traces of the
traditions of former days, and while a great change had come since the
days of Vischer, there was still a firm adherence to nature, and no
such affectations and mannerisms existed here as were seen in the works
of Bernini and his followers in Italy and France.
One of the ablest sculptors of his day was ARTHUR QUELLINUS, who was
born at Antwerp in 1607. He studied under Duquesnoy, and was especially
happy in his manner of imagining his subjects, and of avoiding the
imitation of others or a commonplace treatment of his own. The
magnificent Town Hall of Antwerp was commenced in 1648, and Quellinus
received the commission to decorate it with plastic works. His
sculptures are numerous, both on the interior and exterior of the
edifice. In the two pediments he introduced allegorical representations
of the power of the city of Antwerp, especially in her commerce. These
compositions are picturesque in their arrangement, but the treatment is
such as belongs to sculpture; in one of these a figure which represents
the city is enthroned like a queen, and is surrounded by fantastic
sea-gods, who offer their homage to her. (Fig. 112.)
[Illustration: FIG. 112.--CARYATIDE. _Quellinus._]
We cannot give a list of many detached works by Quellinus, but one of
the best of the old monuments in Berlin is attributed to him. It is the
tomb of Count Sparr in the Marienkirche.
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