Sculpting Reputation: A Terracotta Bust of Senesino by Roubiliac

In 1749, the engraver and antiquarian George Vertue wrote in his notebooks that "of all the Arts now practised in England none has shone late years more apparently than that of Sculpture or Statuary workes." It is therefore not surprising that sculpture figures prominently in the recently...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMetropolitan Museum journal Vol. 57; p. 25
Main Author Baker, Malcolm
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Chicago University of Chicago Press 01.01.2022
Subjects
Avanzati, Maria
Bernardi,, Francesco
Ceramics
Ruubiliac, Francois
Sculpture
Visual arts
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Summary:In 1749, the engraver and antiquarian George Vertue wrote in his notebooks that "of all the Arts now practised in England none has shone late years more apparently than that of Sculpture or Statuary workes." It is therefore not surprising that sculpture figures prominently in the recently reopened British Galleries at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Among the works displayed there is an exceptional terracotta bust identified as a portrait of the celebrated castrato singer Francesco Bernardi, known as "Il Senesino" (1686-1758), by Louis François Roubiliac. The bust was purchased in 2016 from the art dealer Patricia Wengraf, who acquired it from Maria Avanzati in Florence, to whom it had come by family descent along with its traditional identification as Francesco Bernardi.
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ISSN:0077-8958
2169-3072
DOI:10.1086/723653