St Francis Borgia thumbnail 1
St Francis Borgia thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Sculpture, Room 111, The Gilbert Bayes Gallery

St Francis Borgia

Statuette
1750-1751 (made)
Artist/Maker
Egell, Paul (maker)
Place of origin
Mannheim (made)

When planning a new work, the sculptor usually made preliminary drawings and then a model. The models sometimes formed part of his contract with the patron. They could be rough or detailed, large or small, and were made in clay, terracotta, wood and wax. This is a sketch model for a larger wooden figure commissioned for the church of the Jesuits in Mannheim. The finished sculpture was intended for a side altar dedicated to St Francis Borgia and also designed by Egell. The model represents an early stage in the evolution of the design, which was never realised as Egell died shortly afterwards.

Object details

Categories
Sculpture
Christianity
Object type
Statuette
TitleSt Francis Borgia (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Pearwood
Pearwood
Brief description
Statuette, sketch model, pearwood, St Francis Borgia, by Paul Egell, Germany, ca. 1750-1
Physical description
The saint standing in clerical dress with a long mantle. Beside him a child angel holding a skull. The right hand broken.
Dimensions
  • Without base height: 23.81cm
Object history
The object held by the putto is a skull and this identifies him as either St. Aloysius Gonzaga or St. Francis Borgia.

Historical significance: It is unusual among Egell's models in being wood rather than terracotta.
Historical context
This is a sketch model for a larger figure perhaps for the Jesuit College in Mannheim. The finished sculpture was intended for a side altar dedicated to St Francis Borgia and also designed by Egell. The model represents an early stage in the evolution of the design, which was never realised as Egell died shortly afterwards.
Subjects depicted
Angel
Saint
Skull
Summary
When planning a new work, the sculptor usually made preliminary drawings and then a model. The models sometimes formed part of his contract with the patron. They could be rough or detailed, large or small, and were made in clay, terracotta, wood and wax. This is a sketch model for a larger wooden figure commissioned for the church of the Jesuits in Mannheim. The finished sculpture was intended for a side altar dedicated to St Francis Borgia and also designed by Egell. The model represents an early stage in the evolution of the design, which was never realised as Egell died shortly afterwards.
Bibliographic references
  • Trusted, Marjorie, ed. The Making of Sculpture. The Materials and Techniques of European Sculpture. London: 2007, p. 14, pl. 7
  • Lankheit, Klaus. Der Kurpfälzerische Hofbildhauer Paul Egell 1691-1752, Munich, 1988, cat. no. 118, fig. 288;
  • von Knorre, Gertrude, Barock in Baden-Württemberg: vom Ende des Dreissigjährigen Krieges bis zur Französischen Revolution, Karlsruhe: Badisches Landesmuseum, 1981.
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.5-1911

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Record createdMarch 30, 2005
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O110672/st-francis-borgia-statuette-egell-paul/
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