The human body as marble statuary
The human body has been depicted throughout different cultures and times. As the representation of anatomic details became more accurate, statuary managed to embody emotions, social status, power and relationships, redefining standards of beauty and self-representation.
Published gallery
47 items
This figure is a copy of a marble sculpture made by Matthieu Kessels in 1828 for the Duke of Devonshire. The original is at Chatsworth House in England, while the plaster model is preserved in Brussels. That was used in 1900, to cast this bronze for the R…
Sepia photograph taken from Savile's original glass plate negatives of the excavations at The Temple of Diana, Nemi, Italy in 1885. This image depicts the side view of the double headed 'Janus' or 'aquatic monster' featuring an old bea…
Statue head of the roman empress Livia
Little statue with the nude figure of Eilythia, washing herself
Stone edicola with a woman and two children
Stage of the theatre made of stone; marble columns and a statue
Fragment of a decorated slab with a human figure
Bronze statue of Mercury
A Roman head of a woman in fine white crystalline marble with waved hair style tied at the back in a bun; the nose is damaged.
British ceramic manufacturer Josiah Wedgwood produced busts of the Dutch 17th-century heroes Van Oldenbarnevelt, De Witt and Michiel de Ruyter, as well as portrait medal-lions of Stadtholder Prince William V and his consort. Perhaps this series inspired D…
Immagine del modello 3D della statua di un personaggio maschile togato, con un'iscrizione sulla base che riporta il nome di Bassus. Luogo di provenienza: Roselle Foro Romano
Bartolini was an innovator in Italian sculpture. He broke with the then-current tradition of using the art of Classical antiquity as a model. This modest portrait was directly inspired by a famous Italian Renaissance sculpture of a woman (from around 1475…
Already in the 18th century this famous sculpture was known by various nicknames, the best known of which was l’amour menaçant, ‘menacing love’. The threat is most evident in the Cupid’s knowing gaze, while the gesture he makes invokes us to secrecy. The …
Prince Willem IV of Orange had this bust made by the Antwerp sculptor Xavery in 1733. A couple of years later, he also commissioned a bust of his wife Anne of Hannover. Her bust is also exhibited in this room. Willem IV added some exceptional paintings to…
Behind the two figures, stands a snake, symbol of the underworld
Female statue of the Hellenistic period
Body of Venus without her arms and the lower part of the right leg
Erechteion, porch of the Caryatids with six draped female figures as supporting columns
Roman statue with a female figure with a child: probably the portrait of Messalina and her son Britannicus
Bronze statue head of Apollo
Fragmentary statue of Apollo
Portrait of Germanicus of Julio-Claudian dynasty
Fragment of a colossal statue found in the apse of the Basilica of Maxentius in 1486
Marble candleholder decorated with a human head from Varna
Few Dutch sculptors risked depicting romantic themes in the 19th century. Stracké’s Sleeping Beauty is, therefore, quite exceptional. He captured the fairy-tale princess in her deep, 100-year sleep, after she had pricked her finger on an enchanted spindle…
During the years when Quellinus was working on the new Town Hall in Amsterdam, he retained his workshop in Antwerp, which is where this figure of Saint Peter originated. It is a preparatory study for a large marble statue for the tomb of Pieter Saboth in …
Sepia photograph taken from Savile's original glass plate negatives of the excavations at The Temple of Diana, Nemi, Italy in 1885. This image depicts one side of the double headed 'Janus' or 'aquatic monster' featuring a young man. Th…
Emperor Claudius depicted as Jupiter Capitolinus. It was found during the excavations of the roman theatre of Cerveteri.
Fragment of a sarcophagus with a male figure