St George thumbnail 1
St George thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Cast Courts, Room 46b, The Weston Cast Court

St George

Statue
1415-1417 (sculpted), ca. 1864 (cast)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Donatello’s reputation as the great sculptor of the early Italian Renaissance was firmly established by the middle of the 19th century. This early work combines a classicising pose with a naturalistic portrayal of a youthful face. The original marble sculpture was executed for the external niche of the Armourers' Guild on the church of Or San Michele, Florence. The plaster cast was made by Monsieur Desachy, a Parisian cast-maker in 1864.

Plaster casts were especially sought after during the 19th century, when reproductions of great works of sculpture and architecture were thought crucial for the training of artists. A separating substance was applied to the surface of the work to be reproduced, and a plaster mould made from that. The mould would then be used to make any number of additional plaster copies. These were often sold to artists, and later in the century to art colleges for study purposes.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleSt George (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Plaster cast, painted
Brief description
Plaster Cast, painted plaster, after the original marble statue of St. George in the Museo Nazionale (Bargello), Florence, by Donatello, Italy (Florence), 1415-17, cast by Monsieur Desachy, France (Paris), ca. 1864
Dimensions
  • Height: 213.5cm
  • Width: 74.5cm
Gallery label
By the mid 19th century, Donatello was well known as the greatest sculptor of the early Renaissance. This plaster cast was made in 1864 by a firm based in Paris. It shows an early work by Donatello that combines a classical pose with a naturalistic face. The original marble figure was made for the Church of Orsanmichele in Florence.(2014)
Object history
Purchased from Monsieur Desachy, the caster, in 1864 for £7 4s (180 francs).
Historical context
Executed for the niche of the Arte dei Corazzai, the Armourers' guild, on the church of 'Or San Michele', Florence. The original figure was transferred from Or San Michele to the Museo Nazionale in 1892 and replaced in the niche by a bronze copy.
Subject depicted
Summary
Donatello’s reputation as the great sculptor of the early Italian Renaissance was firmly established by the middle of the 19th century. This early work combines a classicising pose with a naturalistic portrayal of a youthful face. The original marble sculpture was executed for the external niche of the Armourers' Guild on the church of Or San Michele, Florence. The plaster cast was made by Monsieur Desachy, a Parisian cast-maker in 1864.

Plaster casts were especially sought after during the 19th century, when reproductions of great works of sculpture and architecture were thought crucial for the training of artists. A separating substance was applied to the surface of the work to be reproduced, and a plaster mould made from that. The mould would then be used to make any number of additional plaster copies. These were often sold to artists, and later in the century to art colleges for study purposes.
Bibliographic reference
Marjorie Trusted. ed. The Making of Sculpture: The Materials and Techniques of European Sculptire. London: V&a Publications, 2007, pp. 162-163, pl. 312
Collection
Accession number
REPRO.1864-36

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Record createdJune 27, 2000
Record URL
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