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

Portrait of a young woman

Bust
1450-1500 (sculpted), ca. 1889 (cast)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is a plaster cast of the limestone original that was formerly thought to represent a Princess of Urbino, and ascribed to Desiderio da Settignano, (b. about 1429; d. 1464). The bust is now ascribed to Andrea dell'Aquilla, who carved the marble relief depicting a Sybil, also in the Staatliche Museum, Berlin.

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
TitlePortrait of a young woman (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Plaster Cast
Brief description
Plaster cast, of a portrait bust of a young woman, after the limestone original in the Bode-Museum (Berlin), by Andrea dell’Aquila, Italy, 1450-1500, cast Berlin (Germany), about 1889.
Dimensions
  • Height: 48.5cm
  • Width: 43.5cm
Gallery label
Renaissance busts were seen as the beginning of naturalistic portraiture and were greatly admired in the late 19th century. At that time, the display of casts of these sculptures was highly fashionable. This is one of many casts that came to the V&A as part of an exchange with the Berlin Museum in the 1880s. It depicts an elegant young woman in 15th-century dress.(2014)
Object history
Purchased from the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany in 1889 for 15 marks.
Historical context
Formerly thought to represent a Princess of Urbino, and ascribed to Desiderio da Settignano, (b. about 1429; d. 1464), the bust is now ascribed to Andrea dell'Aquilla, who carved the marble relief depicting a Sybil, also in the Staatliche Museum, Berlin.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This is a plaster cast of the limestone original that was formerly thought to represent a Princess of Urbino, and ascribed to Desiderio da Settignano, (b. about 1429; d. 1464). The bust is now ascribed to Andrea dell'Aquilla, who carved the marble relief depicting a Sybil, also in the Staatliche Museum, Berlin.

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.
Collection
Accession number
REPRO.1889-91

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Record createdJuly 12, 2000
Record URL
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