Die Büste eines Afrikaners aus der Sammlung Piranesi in Stockholm
Article , Content / 2008-12-02

Opuscula 1 (2008) is out of print. Available for free download at Bokorder.se. Used copies might be available at Amazon.com and Amazon.de. Die Büste eines Afrikaners aus der Sammlung Piranesi in Stockholm By Carmen Marcks Abstract A portrait bust of an African placed among the antiquities in the Royal Museum at Stockholm once belonged to the Roman artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi. It was brought to Sweden at the end of the 18th century at the instance of King Gustav III. The head is a work of the middle or second half of the 16th century. It belongs to a specific, local, Roman form of Mannerist portraits, which have in common a remarkable affinity to antique imperial portrait busts. While the head is an eclectic work combining an idealized countenance—a contemporary peculiarity of portrait art—with antique usages of portrayal, the bust itself seems to be a work that stands directly in the tradition of cinquecentesque Venetian busts. Obviously head and bust were not originally created as an ensemble. This contribution is only available in print. Bibliographical information Carmen Marcks, ‘Die Büste eines Afrikaners aus der Sammlung Piranesi in Stockholm’, Opuscula. Annual of the Swedish Institutes at Athens and Rome (OpAthRom) 1,…

ActaRom-4°, 55: Ancient sculptures in the Royal Museum (1998– )
ActaRom-4° , Catalogue / 1998-01-01

Ancient sculptures in the Royal Museum. The eighteenth-century collection in Stockholm Ancient sculptures in the Royal Museum. The eighteenth-century collection in Stockholm, vol. 1 Distributed by Astrom Editions. By Anne-Marie Leander Touati, with contributions by Magnus Olausson This is a presentation of the ancient sculptures acquired in the 17th and 18th centuries by Swedish royalty and subsequently arranged into a public museum in 1794. The work is based both on the testimony of written sources and on the examination of the pieces. The documents related to Gustav III’s acquisitions (c. 200 pieces) in Rome between 1784 and 1789 are particularly rich. They yield ample information both on the Roman antiquities market and on the Enlightened, antiquarian tradition in Sweden. The changing attitudes towards the collection from the late 18th century up to the present date are touched upon. The terminology used to describe Roman sculpture is discussed and the 18th-century techniques are surveyed. Finally a catalogue which includes discussion of the 15 main pieces of the collection follows. Contents List of abbreviations Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Part 1. Background 1. The history of collecting 2. The main sources for the collection 3. The collector: Gustav III and his entourage (by Magnus…