15929957600001312637261000Standard Recordobject-12444170206296430216171058500001702062269133fitz-onlineadlib-object-12444https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/1244491f506a3-2d68-3cbd-810a-b7753ee4a0ec9personreferenceagent-153013adlib-agent-1530133c7f3abf-ae63-3370-b30d-372ce246e352Perseusreferenceterm-98228adlib-term-982283d747999-296f-3944-9a84-2936c3ae9f5csculptureHeightcm11BaseHeightcm35.8Widthcm17Figurereferenceterm-1111adlib-term-111146c949dd-f376-3538-878f-397baee5be09mythologyApplied ArtsBronze, cast of Perseus, nude, and standing bending slightly backwards to the left, his left arm raised to shoulder height and bent. He gazes down at his right foot and heel, shod with the winged sandal. His other foot is still unshod. The helmet on his head is plain except for the wings at the sides. In his left hand he holds a sword with belt attached.11referenceexhibition-1083adlib-exhibition-108349c29a94-1f13-3dcf-8b31-b144a2d89d92Alfred Gilbert 1854-1934 Sculptor and Goldsmithreferenceexhibition-2125adlib-exhibition-21250eecb2ae-67bc-3360-95fd-e1ca36c4109fEdward Burne-Jones, Das irdische Paradies (The Earthly Paradise)M.4-19511accession numberM.4-195112444priref12444external IDCAM_CCF_M_4_1951urihttps://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/12444https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/12444referenceagent-149638adlib-agent-1496387376d833-d0a7-3be0-916e-9c892b7a24d8The Fitzwilliam MuseumGiven by Mrs May Cippico in accordance with the wishes of Mrs Constance Goetzereferenceagent-153006adlib-agent-1530066a102edc-315b-30b3-8f88-e0187234385aCippico, May195119511951-04-19givenMrs May Cippico was the niece of Mrs Goetze, whose husband Sigismund Goetze was the executor of Sir Alfred Gilbert's will1883CE1883Original plaster model: 1880-1; first bronze cast by 1882. This bronze reduction cast at an unknown date after 1883.after1883sculptorreferenceagent-51985adlib-agent-51985bd8f6272-daa3-3bb6-8203-ba1546060e33Gilbert, AlfredIn Greek mythology, Perseus was son of Zeus (king of the gods) and the mortal Danaë. His greatest feat was to slay Medusa, the snake-haired Gorgon monster. It was as a mighty athletic victor, holding aloft Medusa’s severed head, that Benvenuto Cellini (1500-71) famously portrayed him in the 1550s. Gilbert spent several years in Italy studying Renaissance art, and Perseus Arming is his deeply personal, autobiographical response to Cellini’s prototype. Gilbert said:
'amazed as I was by that great work, it still left me somewhat cold, insomuch that it failed to touch my sympathies. As at that time my whole thoughts were of my artistic equipment for the future, I conceived the idea that Perseus before becoming a hero was a mere mortal, and that he had to look to his equipment. That is a presage of my life and work at that time.' (Hatton 1903, p. 10). By showing Perseus in the act of quietly equipping himself for future trials, Gilbert emphasised Perseus’ mortal rather than heroic character. Gilbert modelled the original plaster of Perseus Arming in Rome in 1880-1, and had the first bronze of it cast in Italy using the lost-wax casting method. This was exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery, Bond Street, London in 1882 to great acclaim (his marble Kiss of Victory was exhibited at the Royal Academy at the same time) and at the Paris Salon in 1883, where it received an honourable mention.
Perseus Arming was a highly significant early work and the first of three important, deeply personal bronzes Gilbert made his highly creative period of 1881 to 1892 – the other two being Icarus and Comedy and Tragedy (for a cast of the latter, see M.1-2003). Perseus Arming was one of Gilbert's most popular models. It was reproduced in three sizes: full-scale (c.71-74 cm; see also M.22-2015, 67.9cm high), which is rare; half-scale (c.36 cm); and quarter-scale (c.14.5cm). The date and the place of casting of this example is uncertain.Sir Alfred Gilbert RA MVO (1854-1934) was an English sculptor. He studied in London, Paris and Rome, returning to England in 1884. Gilbert was the leading artist in the New Sculpture movement, which revitalised sculpture in late nineteenth-century Britain. He was also a vital force in reintroducing the lost-wax technique for casting works of art in bronze in England (sand-casting had been the norm for bronze sculpture since the 18th century, with lost-wax casting used only for small-scale work and jewellery). His commissions included the jubilee memorial to Queen Victoria in Winchester and the statue of Eros, in aluminium, for the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain in Piccadilly Circus, and in 1900 he was appointed Professor of Sculpture at the Royal Academy. A period of bankruptcy and divorce followed, and Gilbert moved to Bruges. On his return to England in 1926, his fortunes improved, the highlight being the bronze Queen Alexandra Memorial, at Marlborough House, London, 1926-32. He was knighted by George V in 1932. Gilbert died in poverty in 1934.referenceterm-120899adlib-term-1208995e59b69b-0f3c-3b6d-8cb0-3722582507d719th Century, Latereferenceterm-39741adlib-term-3974147d44741-af05-37c3-b21e-0e278b114f3bcopper alloyreferenceterm-40365adlib-term-40365d79c75c2-da7b-3187-918e-f7a374e04005bronzereferencemedia-11839adlib-media-11839cb5c9a11-122b-33a6-a6e5-a1b292c521b6jpegaa/aa19/M_4_1951.jpg1heightpixels760widthpixels60316162778601931imagejpegaa/aa19/mid_M_4_1951.jpg1heightpixels630widthpixels50016162778601931imagejpegaa/aa19/M_4_1951.jpg1heightpixels760widthpixels60316162778601931imagejpegaa/aa19/preview_M_4_1951.jpg1heightpixels315widthpixels25016162778601931image0media
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imagereferenceterm-107454adlib-term-1074546ca0f2ab-c1f8-329d-8a45-8f1322f53a20figurehistory noteFrom the collection of the painter, Sigismund Goetze (1866-1939)referenceagent-149638adlib-agent-1496387376d833-d0a7-3be0-916e-9c892b7a24d8The Fitzwilliam Museumreference numberliteralnameSculpture UKSculpture UKPubl. pl. 4pp. 55-7referencepublication-1084adlib-publication-1084af2073bd-3072-347e-9c33-67eaaa1e5a19Alfred GilbertPubl. no. 11, ill. p. 107, and in colour p. 53pp. 106-7referencepublication-1085adlib-publication-10859e6e2ffa-0be7-35e6-9706-bb46f33011b0Alfred Gilbert 1854-1934 Sculptor and GoldsmithPubl. Mentioned, p. 71p. 71referencepublication-1072adlib-publication-1072cc21b4e3-d3f9-337a-859e-ce6392a2cc4fCatalogue of European Sculpture in the Ashmolean Museum, 1540 to the present dayPubl. Illustrated in colour with short text168referencepublication-382adlib-publication-382ee5148de-e3eb-3d38-88db-9a331edf70b6Treasures of the Fitzwilliam Museumreferencepublication-1086adlib-publication-1086d973f565-91a8-33f4-a783-98dcc5b1adbbWestern European Bronzes of the Nineteenth Centuryreferencepublication-1087adlib-publication-108793de7855-f2b6-3250-a471-841ca5b5ae1cVictorian High RenaissanceCf. Another, pp. 80-1, lot 381 (Valued at c.£15-25,000)pp. 80-1referencepublication-2875adlib-publication-28752d07d605-053f-3485-9491-ab75245a2fdbAntiquities, Works of Art and Important Renaissance Bronzes, Plaquettes and Limoges Enamels, 8th July 1981referencepublication-2462adlib-publication-24622f16f7f5-3ac4-3747-bad1-2d567df4dbcfNineteenth Century European Paintings, Drawings and SculptureCf. p. 126, lot 250, another 14 in. high. (Estimate £9-12,000)p. 126referencepublication-2876adlib-publication-287634a26c6e-3e40-3c90-8596-15e5b170b555Victorian Paintings and SculptureCf. Two more, pp. 86-7, lot 54 (72.5 cm.) (Est. £15-20,000), lot 56 (Est. £6-8,000) (37.00 cm.)pp. 86-7referencepublication-2878adlib-publication-2878dd9ca8a5-9ffe-35c3-8d30-6efea7add8bcNineteenth Century European Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture Part ICf. Another 71.7 cm high, pp. 90-1, lot 133. (Estimate £40-60,000)pp. 90-1referencepublication-2399adlib-publication-2399f46aa2b2-e379-3d5b-9c14-a56d29a49244The Nineteenth Centuryreferencepublication-1088adlib-publication-10886c5e5fd0-4cdc-337e-994a-23ceddc47762Pre-Raphaelite Sculpture, Nature and Imagination in British Sculpture 1848-1914Cf. Another 73 cm. high, p. 84, lot 181. (Estimate £18-22,000; fetched £34,500)p. 84referencepublication-2180adlib-publication-2180442625f1-2f91-36db-a711-7099a21a438519th and 20th Century SculptureCf. An Italian cast by Fonderia Nelli, Roma, pp. 96-8, lot 133. (Estimate £40-50,000; fetched £84,000).pp. 96-8referencepublication-2170adlib-publication-21708ab2d354-caec-3cd7-91d5-ecf357bfa9b219th and 20th Century Sculpture, 21st November 1995referencepublication-5348adlib-publication-534834db80a1-cc6d-38f6-8148-1107e898a8e8European sculpture and works of art 900-1900Cf. Another, 36.5 cm high (including integral base), pp. 234-5, lot 151. Estimate: £15,000-25,000.pp. 234-5referencepublication-3706adlib-publication-37061f351836-5cee-3992-be1e-2bbdf38ee7c9The Forbes Collection of Victorian Pictures and Works of Art IICf. pp. 275-6, no. 420 an example 37 cm high in the Victoria and Albert Museum (77-1904). The authors mention controversy about the possibility that this example was an aftercast, but date it c. 1882.275-6referencepublication-3759adlib-publication-375973edca64-3289-371a-bf69-0300633e25edBritish Sculpture 1470 to 2000, A Concise Catalogue of the Collection at the Victoria and Albert MuseumCf. Lot 236, an example 36 cm high. Estimate £15-20,000. Previously exhibited at Joanna Barnes Fine Arts, London, 1996, Leighton and his sculptural legacy. British sculpture 1875-1930, p. 42, no. 13.105referencepublication-4714adlib-publication-4714ab4f93bc-fa05-33f1-8819-e650d06f0023European Sculpture & Works of Art 900-1900Cf. pp. 154-5, lot 150, a cast of the larger size 72.7 cm (28½ in) , probably one of ten casts prodcued by the Compagnie des Bronzes from 1901-20. From the Hon. Bobby Wills Collection, Farmington Lodge,Gloucestershire, . Estimate £50-70,000154-5referencepublication-5299adlib-publication-52998566cb57-2e31-3d4b-83de-5bd12880df4aEuropean Sculpture & Works of Art84referencepublication-8565adlib-publication-85655a13015c-cd03-37e5-ab7c-a277c121551aCollecting & Giving: Highlights from the Sir Ivor and Lady Batchelor Bequest38-42referencepublication-8668adlib-publication-866801ccb9f3-84a6-3aad-9b91-eb74be238e0aAlfred Gilbertpassimreferencepublication-8669adlib-publication-8669ce1d750d-c612-3e94-bb5d-c033e06f0c90The New Sculpturereferenceterm-14252adlib-term-14252028aa1e1-3098-309d-af11-62ae27515507New Sculpture Movementreferenceterm-107454adlib-term-1074546ca0f2ab-c1f8-329d-8a45-8f1322f53a20figurefigurebronze, cast and chasedreferenceterm-27438adlib-term-274386e8fa95f-07b1-35a4-bfed-2b07a46e0410lost-wax processPerseus Armingobject
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