Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Early Drawings and Prints of Antique Busts

Anonymous printmaer
Bust of Ceres
ca. 1530-70
engraving
British Museum

In the world of Renaissance prints, anonymity is not unusual.The maker often can be guessed at, or linked to some earlier creative figure, but the bust above of Ceres in her oval has no such attachments (or none so far discovered). Yes, many surviving works are entirely anonymous, but few of such surpassing beauty entirely are.

Giulio Bonasone
Bust of Juno
ca. 1531-76
engraving
British Museum

Giulio Bonasone
Bust of Latona
ca. 1531-76
engraving
British Museum

Giulio Bonasone
Bust of Bellona
ca. 1531-76
engraving
British Museum

Wenceslaus Hollar
Bust of Faustina the Younger
1645
etching, engraving
British Museum

Jan de Bisschop
Bust of Faustina the Elder
ca. 1672-89
etching
British Museum

attributed to John Brown
Bust of Faustina (unspecified)
ca. 1768-87
drawing
British Museum

Charles Reuben Ryley
Colossal Bust of Minerva
ca. 1768-1805
drawing
British Museum

attributed to William Chambers
Colossal Bust of Minerva
ca. 1768-1805
drawing
British Museum

Anonymous artist
Bust of Clytie
1772
drawing
British Museum

attributed to Joseph Nollekens
Antique bust of a woman
ca. 1780
drawing
British Museum

Vincenzo Dolcibene
Busts of Plotina and Marciana
ca. 1786
drawing
British Museum

George Perfect Harding
Bust of Athena
ca. 1795-1853
etching
British Museum

Henry Howard
Antique head of Niobe
18th century
drawing
British Museum

I am grateful to the British Museum for the excellent reproductions.