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Archduke Ferdinand Carl of Tirol
Gras, Caspar, born 1585 - died 1674 - Enlarge image
Archduke Ferdinand Carl of Tirol
- Object:
Statuette
- Place of origin:
Innsbruck (made)
- Date:
ca. 1648 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Gras, Caspar, born 1585 - died 1674 (maker)
- Materials and Techniques:
Bronze
- Credit Line:
Purchased by the John Webb Trust
- Museum number:
A.16-1960
- Gallery location:
Sculpture, Room 117, case 1
This is one of a group of equestrian bronze statuettes of Habsburgs produced by Caspar Gras in about 1648. Until 1933, this version was in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, along with five others which remain in that collection. They belong to a type which originated among Giambologna's followers in Florence, particularly Pietro Tacca, who pursued an interest in the rearing horse in his equestrian statue of Archduke Leopold V of about 1630.
The rider, head, baton and sword are cast separately, following the practice first identified in Tacca's workshop to enable the horses and riders to be interchangeable.
