Skip to main content

Painted Figurative Sculptures

to
335
1,399
201
39
192
277
930
240
365
348
105
43
44
91
140
17
25
31
24
21
17
286
140
115
86
79
72
47
45
35
27
10
9
6
3
3
2
2
1
884
461
405
382
178
849
666
1,303
307
293
261
156
Height
to
Width
to
1,639
1,567
1,624
128
114
65
57
50
Technique: Painted
Early Spanish 17th Century Hand Carved Wooden Baroque Angel
Located in Buisson, FR
Beautiful early standing baroque angel. Extra ordinary and rare period piece. Spain circa 1650-1700 Weathered, small losses. More photo's available on request. Measurements include ...
Category

17th Century Spanish Baroque Antique Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Wood

Vintage German Yard or Garden Gnome under Mushroom Statue, by Heissner Germany
Located in Nuernberg, DE
A gorgeous character ceramic figural gnome statue. This character statue has been made by the famous Heissner Company in Germany, in the 1950s. This Company is well known for all the...
Category

1950s German Folk Art Vintage Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

Stunning German Yard or Garden Gnome Statue, Antique Germany 1910s
Located in Nuernberg, DE
A gorgeous character ceramic figural gnome statue. This character statue has been made by a unknown Company in Germany, in the 1910s or older. Absolutely gorgeous item with lots of c...
Category

1910s German Folk Art Vintage Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

Italian 18th Century Hand Carved Wooden Baroque Angel Fragment
Located in Buisson, FR
Beautiful hand carved Baroque angel fragment. Unique period piece with traces of its old color . Italy, circa 1750 Weathered. small losses. Measurement here below includes the wood...
Category

18th Century Italian Baroque Antique Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Wood

18th Century Italian Baroque Angel Figure
Located in Buisson, FR
Wonderful angel figure Italy, circa 1750. Weathered , losses Measurement includes the wooden base. Treated against woodworm. H:36cm W:19cm D:19cm
Category

18th Century Italian Baroque Antique Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Wood

Pair Antique German Porcelain Birds Parakeets Cockrels Cockatoo Parrots Karl Ens
Located in Dublin, Ireland
An exceptionally fine quality highly detailed pair of German Karl Ens pottery porcelain Parrots Feathered Figures of quite generous size, late Nineteenth, early Twentieth Century. ...
Category

Early 20th Century German Victorian Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain, Pottery

1940s Art Déco Glazed Ceramic 'Ambretta Dancer' by S. Vaccetti for Essevi, Italy
Located in North Miami, FL
1940s Art Déco Torino painted and glazed ceramic figurine 'Ambretta Dancer' by Sandro Vaccetti for the firm Essevi, Italy By: Sandro Vaccetti Material: ceramic, paint, enamel, clay ...
Category

1940s Italian Art Deco Vintage Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Enamel

Large Tang Dynasty Pottery Painted Lokapalas Sculptures 28 Inches
Located in Dallas, TX
Tang Dynasty Pair of Painted Pottery Lokapalas Tang Dynasty (618-907), Height: 27.25 x 11.5 x 7" each PROVENANCE: Weisbrod Chinese Art, Ltd., New York Condition: Losses and resto...
Category

15th Century and Earlier Chinese Tang Antique Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Pottery

Italian 18th century baroque Carved Wooden Silvered Panel / Coat Of Arms
Located in Buisson, FR
Amazing baroque panel depicting a crowned reliquary . Beautiful weathered with traces of its original silver, gilding and colour. Italy circa 1750 Weathered, small losses . Measureme...
Category

18th Century Italian Baroque Antique Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Wood

Spanish 17th/ 18th Century Hand Carved Wooden Baroque Angel
Located in Buisson, FR
Wonderful hand carved standing Baroque angel figure. Unique period piece with its original paint . Spain, circa 1650-1750 Weathered. small losses . Measurement here below includes ...
Category

17th Century Spanish Baroque Antique Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Wood

Antique German Yard or Garden Gnome Statue with Wheelbarrow, 1910s or older
Located in Nuernberg, DE
A gorgeous character ceramic figural gnome statue - attributed to Griebel in Germany, a well known manufacturer of this kind of figures. This character statue has been made in German...
Category

1910s German Mid-Century Modern Vintage Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Earthenware, Wood

Spanish 17th/ 18th Century Hand Carved Wooden Baroque Angel
Located in Buisson, FR
Wonderful hand carved standing Baroque angel figure. Unique period piece with its original paint . Spain, circa 1650-1750 Weathered. . Measurement here below includes the wooden ba...
Category

17th Century Spanish Baroque Antique Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Wood

Vintage Italian Porcelain Animal Figurine Rooster Ceramic Cockerel Bird Figure
Located in Wommelgem, VAN
Art Deco mid Century Italian porcelain 2 roosters on a tree trunk Material: Porcelain, Ceramic, Tin glazed Design: In the manner of Cacciapuoti Origin: Italy, first half 20th century...
Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Baroque Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic, Majolica, Porcelain

Tom of Finland. Bookend ‘Pekka’
By TASCHEN, Tom of Finland, Duffy London
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Tom of Finland. Bookend ‘Pekka’ Bookend, painted cast resin, height 12.8 in., base 6 x 6 x 0.8 in. Always Ready to Handle the Heaviest Load - Get Your Books Sandwiched and Add Some ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Resin

Pair of Derby Mansion House Dwarf Figures porcelain, 19th Century
Located in Lincoln, Lincolnshire
These are a pair of Derby Porcelain "Mansion House" Dwarfs or "Grotesque Punches" both with incised model numbers and dating to the 19th century. Both figures, male and female are m...
Category

19th Century English Georgian Antique Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

French 18th Century Hand Carved Baroque Winged Angel Head
Located in Buisson, FR
Wonderful hand carved winged angel head with its original color and gilding. France, circa 1750 Weathered and small losses and old repair. Treated against woodworm. Measurement here...
Category

18th Century French Baroque Antique Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Wood

Pair of 77 inch Male and 69 inch Female Sculptures in The Style of Giacometti
By Alberto and Diego Giacometti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A pair of cast metal Sculptures, male and female. The finish is newly painted in black. The pair are heavy and substantial, but we do not believe them to be Bronze. They do make ...
Category

20th Century Mid-Century Modern Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Metal

Pair Royal Dux Staffordshire Porcelain Birds Parakeets Cockrels Cockatoos
Located in Dublin, Ireland
An exceptionally fine quality highly detailed pair of Royal Dux Czech Republic pottery vivid Majolica Parrot Feathered Figures of quite generous size, Mid Twentieth Century Each ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Czech Victorian Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain, Pottery

STELIO MOLA - Hand Painted Majolica Sardinian Figure - Italy - Mid 20th Century
By Mola
Located in Chatham, ON
STELIO MOLA - Vintage hand painted majolica figure of a Sardinian gentleman - medium size - featuring elaborate hand crafted and hand painted details throughout - signed on the base ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Folk Art Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

Monkey Band NINE-Piece Set Porcelain figurines by Sitzendorf , Circa 1910
Located in Lincoln, Lincolnshire
These are a beautiful set of NINE porcelain Monkey Figures or Figurines all playing in a Band made by Sitzendorf, Germany, circa 1910. What makes these figures special is the excell...
Category

Early 20th Century German Baroque Revival Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

French Tole-Painted Floral Dummy Board – Basket of Tulips & Hydrangeas, 20th C.
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
French Tole-Painted Floral Dummy Board – Basket of Tulips & Hydrangeas, 20th Century A charming French tole-painted floral dummy board, 20th century, crafted in the form of an abu...
Category

20th Century French Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Metal

Post Modern Display Mannequin
Located in Riverdale, NY
Post Modern Display Mannequin from a Japanese store formerly located on Madison Ave, NY. Articulated fiberglass mannequin body has screws at join...
Category

1980s Japanese Post-Modern Vintage Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Metal

Collectible Pair of Vintage Porcelain Cats 1970s
Located in Bochum, NRW
Rare Swedish porcelain cat from Guldkroken in Hjo. Vintage. White hand painted facial features & pink bows. Made in Sweden in the 70s. Original maker...
Category

1970s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

Antique German Yard or Garden Gnome Statue with Wheelbarrow, 1910s or older
Located in Nuernberg, DE
A gorgeous character ceramic figural gnome statue - attributed to Griebel in Germany, a well known manufacturer of this kind of figures. This character statue has been made in German...
Category

1910s German Mid-Century Modern Vintage Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Earthenware, Wood

LLADRO - Vintage Bending Girl Figurine - Matte Finish - Spain - 20th Century
Located in Chatham, ON
LLADRO - Vintage matte finish ceramic figure - bending girl dressed in her nightgown - retired - factory stamp to the base - Spain - mid 20th century. Excellent vintage condition - ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Spanish Mid-Century Modern Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

Tom of Finland. Bookend ‘Durk’
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Tom of Finland. Bookend ‘Durk’ Bookend, painted cast resin, height 12.8 in., base 6 x 6 x 0.8 in. Always Ready to Handle the Heaviest Load- Get Your Books Sandwiched and Add Some Pl...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Resin

German Lusterweibchen Four-Light Chandelier w. Carved Mermaid Figure and Antlers
Located in Barntrup, DE
This amazing German chandelier features a delicate hand-carved and polychrome hand-painted mythical lady or mermaid with a scaly fishtail. The adorable and handsome lady is holding a cartouche-shaped shield. The light fixture is hung on a chain suspension, mounted on real antlers, and decorated with red and yellow wrought iron...
Category

Early 20th Century German Early Victorian Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Metal, Wrought Iron

Very Large Herend Csikós on Horseback Fine Quality Hungarian Porcelain Figurine
Located in Tustin, CA
Finest quality, very large, handmade porcelain sculpture figurine of a "Csikós on Horseback" has been created for Herend by the famous sculptor, Bela Markup and expertly hand-painted...
Category

20th Century Hungarian Other Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

12th Century Rare Romanesque Wood Sculpture of the Virgin Mary
Located in Vero Beach, FL
12th century extremely rare romanesque wood sculpture of the Virgin Mary. Magnificent wood hand carved sculpture of the Virgin Mary holding a book to her chest. It is an extremely rare survivor of the 12th century. The style is European, possibly French or English. This statue is a testimony to beautiful religious art from about 1150. A truly rare Romanesque sculpture...
Category

15th Century and Earlier English Medieval Antique Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Stone

Sculptural 18th Century Italian Figure of Christ on Red and White Crystal Quartz
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
Sculptural 18th century Italian figure of Christ and metal sword with large red and white crystal quartz clusters and phantom quartz. The figure of Christ was originally part of a c...
Category

18th Century Italian Rococo Antique Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Crystal, Rock Crystal, Metal

Antique Meissen Porcelain Figurine of a Girl with Flower Basket
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A fine antique German porcelain figurine. By Meissen. In the form of a barefoot young girl in a dirndl dress carrying a wicker basket full of many different flowers. Atop a Rococo-style gilt plinth. Marked to the base with Meissen's blue underglaze crossed swords mark / an impressed 9 / an incised 'No. 5'. Simply a wonderful antique Meissen figurine...
Category

20th Century German Rococo Revival Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

Antique Lifesize Crowned Mother Mary and Child Jesus Gothic Revival Sculpture
Located in Lisse, NL
Hand carved wood antique statue of Mother Mary wearing a Gothic crown. This original and all hand carved sculpture of the mother of all mothers is anothe...
Category

Early 20th Century European Gothic Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Wood

18th Century Italian Gilded Tabernacle with a Hand-Carved Chalice Fragment
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
18th century Italian gilded and hand-carved tabernacle adorned with an 18th century Italian gilt chalice and Sabina Faye Braxton gaufrage fabric. This tabernacle once belonged in a h...
Category

18th Century Italian Rococo Antique Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Gold Leaf

Mexican Dia De Los Muertos Day of the Dead La Catrina Folk Art Figure Sculpture
Located in Studio City, CA
A quite wonderful Mexican Day of the Dead (Dia De Los Muertos festival held throughout Mexico) La Catrina symbolic skeleton figure. La Catrina is the festival’s most recognizable image/figure. She is the model of a high-society woman who has met Death, her maker. She represents something between the fear induced by her skeletal form and the revelry exhibited by the comical way she is typically portrayed, making her a perfect symbol of the Mexican holiday. She often appears in paintings, window displays, and costumes all around Mexico during the Day of the Dead festivities. La Catrina was originally conceived in the early 1900s by newspaper illustrator and printmaker José Guadalupe Posada...
Category

20th Century Mexican Folk Art Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Textile, Wood, Paper

A Pair Of Antique Italian Capodimonte Porcelain Cherubs
Located in New Orleans, LA
A pair of lovely figures of young children with beautiful hand painted facial features. One holds a bell and is leaning on a tree stump base and the other child with floral leaves. S...
Category

1920s Italian Baroque Revival Vintage Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

Early 20th Century Cold-Painted Bronze entitled "Ecstasy" by Josef Lorenzl
Located in London, GB
An attractive early 20th Century Art Deco cold painted silver bronze figure of a young energetic beauty in a stretched pose, raised on a decorative black and green onyx base and sign...
Category

Early 20th Century Austrian Art Deco Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Onyx, Bronze

Italian 1930 Art Deco Ceramic Female Diving Figure in Red Bathing Suit Bookends
Located in New York, NY
A striking pair of vintage Art Deco ceramic bookends depicting elegant female divers, each poised in a dynamic stance. These sculptural bookends feature women in red bathing suits an...
Category

1930s Italian Art Deco Vintage Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

Wig Holder or Hat Stand 1970 Vintage, Sculpture Face Female Head France, Brown
Located in Auribeau sur Siagne, FR
This sculpture is a wig holder, made in the 1970s in France. It is a Female Head, in a brown color.
Category

1970s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Plastic

Rare Vintage Monumental Porcelain Horse Drawn Victorian Carriage centerpiece
Located in Leesburg, VA
Rare Vintage Monumental Porcelain Horse Drawn Victorian Carriage centerpiece group Capodimonte Porcelain, after a model by Giorgio Galletti Naples, Italy; second half of the 20th century Porcelain Approximate size: 37 (w) x 15 (h) x 10 (d) in. This beautiful and elaborately detailed porcelain group features an ornately modeled carriage drawn by four horses. The coach features a driver seated on his perch wearing a tricorn hat and a lovely lady is seated in the coach box wearing a light blue dress with intricate gesticulating openwork porcelain lace...
Category

Late 20th Century Italian Late Victorian Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

Sergio Bustamante Signed Man At Window Ceramic Sculpture
Located in Forney, TX
A scarce vintage ceramic art sculpture by legendary 20th century Mexican artist Sergio Bustamante (b.1949). Fantastical surrealist style hand pa...
Category

20th Century Mexican Post-Modern Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Earthenware

Antique Meissen School Hand Painted Bisque Porcelain Mother & Child Figure c1920
Located in Big Flats, NY
Antique Hand Painted Bisque Porcelain Mother & Child Figure in the Manner of Meissen c1920 Measures- 17.25"H x 9.25"W x 9.25"D
Category

Early 20th Century Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain, Paint

Huge Capodimonte “Ritorno Dai Campi" by S. Agostino Fine Quality Porcelain Scene
Located in Tustin, CA
“Ritorno dai campi" is a museum quality, limited edition, handmade and hand painted, collectible Capodimonte Italian porcelain by Italian artist, S. Agostino. It is a finely detailed, very large porcelain sculpture depicting a boy riding in a hay filled, horse drawn wagon. The horse has leather reins and is lead by a man with a dog. The man is on foot and holding a hat, and is followed by a barefoot woman with a basket and a rake. The scene is decorated with flowers, a tree and a stump. Porcelain scene sits on a wooden base with a brass plaque reading "Ritorno Dai Campi Collezione Porcellane S. Agostino" Signed on the back, “Capodimonte Limited Edition no. 1/100 Made in Italy" with the artist's signature and a blue and white Capodimonte...
Category

20th Century Italian Other Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

Contemporary "Eggs Carton The Best", All Pieces Numbered, Handmade in Italy
Located in San Miniato PI, IT
Born in 1992 in Macerata in the Marche region, the Italian artist carried out a path that between studies of Surveyor and Architecture led him to a long collaboration with a craft co...
Category

2010s Italian Industrial Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Gold Leaf

Spanish 18th Century Hand Carved Wooden Baroque Angel
Located in Buisson, FR
Beautiful hand carved Baroque angel. Unique period piece with traces of its old paint . Spain, circa 1750 Weathered. Several small losses and old repair. Measurement here below in...
Category

18th Century Spanish Baroque Antique Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Wood

SECOND HALF OF THE 18th CENTURY MEISSEN PORCELAIN CRUCIFIX
Located in Firenze, FI
Beautiful polychrome porcelain crucifix from the Meissen factory, one of the oldest and most prestigious European porcelain manufacturers. The brand...
Category

Late 18th Century Italian Antique Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain, Wood, Paint

Carving Wooden Sculptures Book End Set Of 2 Decorative Figurine of Book Holders
Located in Wembley, GB
Book Ends Wooden style acrylic Sculptures A Set Of 2 Decorative Figurines of Human Book Holder Beautifully stylized a set of figurines with a great ba...
Category

1990s Turkish Art Deco Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Acrylic, Wood, Fruitwood, Driftwood, Pine, Bog Wood

Decorative Buddha Head Stand Antique RESIN BUDDHA HEAD ON STAND 1960
Located in Wembley, GB
The antique Buddha head is an icon of confidence, awareness, knowledge, compassion and concentrated meditative practices. Every faculty of the Budd...
Category

1960s Italian Art Deco Vintage Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Metal, Gold Plate, Sheet Metal, Gold Leaf

Porcelain Figure, Russian Dancer designed by Dimitri Iwanow for Lomonosov
By Dimitri Ivanov, Lomonosov
Located in Bochum, NRW
Tamara Karsavina, a Ballets Russes Dancer, impersonating the "Firebird" in the Ballet by Igor Strawinsky. Porcelain Figure by Dimitri Iwanow for Lomonosov, St. Petersburg Manufactory...
Category

Early 20th Century Russian Art Deco Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

Portuguese Baroque Madonna and Child Religious Sculpture, 17th Century Statue
Located in Lisbon, PT
This late 17th-century Portuguese Baroque figure in polychromed wood depicts the Madonna holding the Christ Child, carved with exquisite detail and spiritual grace. The Virgin is p...
Category

Late 17th Century Portuguese Baroque Antique Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Gold Leaf

Vintage 1960s Blue Pedal Car Convertible
Located in Chicago, IL
Vibrant, sleek and full of character, this vintage pedal car was once the prized possession of children all across America. A popular toy since the late 19th century, pedal cars expe...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Steel

Romer italy hand carved desk top scuba diver
Located in Ferndale, MI
Whimsical carved figure of skin diver , spear fisherman . Decked in wet suit with spear gun and fresh catch . Hand carved in Italy late 1960s into the ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Wood

Italian Ceramic Sculpture Madonna Virgin & Child Pattarino 1960s Figure
Located in Wommelgem, VAN
Italian ceramic terracotta sculpture Depicting Madonna , Virgin & Child religiousstatue Material: Earthenware terracotta, tin glaze and partially gilded Modeled and painted by h...
Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Gold Leaf

18th Century Italian Double-Mounted Cross on Hematite with Pyrite Inclusions
Located in Dublin, Dalkey
Sculptural 18th century Italian gilded double-mounted cross on hematite with pyrite inclusions and adorned with pyrite rosettes. A matching smaller cross is mounted onto the bigger cross...
Category

18th Century Italian Rococo Antique Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Quartz, Rock Crystal, Pyrite

Andy Warhol-Inspired Carved Alabaster Bananas, Set of 2
Located in Round Top, TX
From the early 20th century, and before, the imagery of the humble banana has always captured our interest and attention. From Claes Oldenburg to Any Warhol and more recently, Mauriz...
Category

Early 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Alabaster

Art Deco Period Hand Carved & Painted Butler Dumb Waiter Statue
Located in Forney, TX
An interesting and whimsical Art Deco period hand carved and painted dumb waiter, this listing is for the butler statue only (the maid has already sold)....
Category

Early 20th Century Art Deco Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Wood

Exquisite Polychrome Spanish santo wood sculpture of St. Dominic
Located in Leesburg, VA
Exquisite Polychrome Spanish santo wood sculpture of St. Dominic Anonymous ca. 1700; Spain or the Spanish Americas Polychrome wood Approximate ...
Category

Early 1700s Spanish Baroque Antique Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Wood, Paint

Large French Art Nouveau Polychrome Plaster Statue of a Floral Maiden, c.1900
Located in LA CIOTAT, FR
This stunning Art Nouveau sculpture is a large-scale painted plaster figure of a partially draped female nude adorned with flowers and flowing drapery. Sculpted with remarkable grace...
Category

Early 19th Century French Art Nouveau Antique Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Plaster, Paint

Rare and important painted bronze Crucifix after a model by Michelangelo
By Michelangelo Buonarroti
Located in Leesburg, VA
A rare and very fine bronze corpus of Christ after a model by Michelangelo, cast ca. 1597-1600 by Juan Bautista Franconio and painted in 1600 by Francisco Pacheco in Seville, Spain. The present corpus reproduces a model attributed to Michelangelo. The best known example, lesser in quality, is one on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET). The association of this corpus with Michelangelo was first brought to light by Manuel Gomez-Moreno (1930-33) who studied the wider circulated casts identified throughout Spain. The attribution to Michelangelo was subsequently followed by John Goldsmith-Phillips (1937) of the MET and again by Michelangelo expert, Charles de Tolnay (1960). While Michelangelo is best known for his monumental works, there are four documented crucifixes he made. The best known example is the large-scale wooden crucifix for the Church of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito in Florence, made in 1492 as a gift for the Prior, Giovanni di Lap Bicchiellini, for allowing him to study the anatomy of corpses at the hospital there. In 1562, Michelangelo wrote two letters to his nephew, Lionardo, indicating his intention to carve a wooden crucifix for him. In 1563 a letter between Lionardo and the Italian sculptor Tiberio Calcagni, mentions this same crucifix (a sketch of a corpus on the verso of a sheet depicting Michelangelo’s designs for St. Peter’s Basillica [Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille] may reproduce this). That Michelangelo was working on small corpora in the last years of his life is further evidenced by the small (26.5 cm) unfinished wooden crucifix located at the Casa Buonarroti, considered his last known sculptural undertaking. Michelangelo’s contemporary biographer, Giorgio Vasari additionally cites that Michelangelo, in his later years, made a small crucifix for his friend, Menighella, as a gift. Surviving sketches also indicate Michelangelo’s study of this subject throughout his career, most notably during the end of his life but also during the 1530s-40s as he deepened his spiritual roots. The occasional cameo of crucified Christ’s throughout his sketched oeuvre have made it challenging for scholars to link such sketches to any documented commissions of importance. All the while, in consideration that such objects were made as gifts, it is unlikely they should be linked with commissions. Nonetheless, a number of theories concerning Michelangelo’s sketches of Christ crucified have been proposed and some may regard the origin of the present sculpture. It has been suggested that the corpus could have its impetus with Michelangelo’s work on the Medici Chapel, whose exclusive design was given to the master. It is sensible smaller details, like an altar cross, could have fallen under his responsibility (see for example British Museum, Inv. 1859,0625.552). Others have noted the possibility of an unrealized large marble Crucifixion group which never came to fruition but whose marble blocks had been measured according to a sheet at the Casa Buonarroti. A unique suggestion is that Michelangelo could have made the crucifix for Vittoria Colonna, of whom he was exceedingly fond and with whom he exchanged gifts along with mutual spiritual proclivities. In particular, Vittoria had an interest in the life of St. Bridget, whose vision of Christ closely resembles our sculpture, most notably with Christ’s proper-left leg and foot crossed over his right, an iconography that is incredibly scarce for crucifixes. The suggestion could add sense to Benedetto Varchi’s comment that Michelangelo made a sculpted “nude Christ…he gave to the most divine Marchesa of Pescara (Vittoria Colonna).” Of that same period, two sketches can be visually linked to our sculpture. Tolnay relates it to a sketch of a Crucified Christ at the Teylers Museum (Inv. A034) of which Paul Joannides comments on its quality as suggestive of preparations for a sculptural work. Joannides also calls attention to a related drawing attributed to Raffaello da Montelupo copying what is believed to be a lost sketch by Michelangelo. Its relationship with our sculpture is apparent. Montelupo, a pupil of Michelangelo’s, returned to Rome to serve him in 1541, assisting with the continued work on the tomb of Pope Julius II, suggesting again an origin for the corpus ca. 1540. The earliest firm date that can be given to the present corpus is 1574 where it appears as a rather crudely conceived Crucifixion panel, flanked by two mourners in low-relief and integrally cast for use as the bronze tabernacle door to a ciborium now located at the Church of San Lorenzo in Padula. Etched in wax residue on the back of the door is the date, 27 January 1574, indicating the corpus would have at least been available as a model by late 1573. The Padula tabernacle was completed by Michelangelo’s assistant, Jacopo del Duca and likely has its origins with Michelangelo’s uncompleted tabernacle for the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels in Rome. The impetus for the Padula tabernacle’s Crucifixion panel begins with a series of late Crucifixion sketches by Michelangelo, depicting a scene of Christ crucified and flanked by two mourners (see British Museum Inv. 1895.0915.510; Ashmolean Museum Inv. 1846.89, KP II 343 recto; Windsor Castle RCIN 912761 recto; and Louvre Inv. 700). A faintly traced block possibly intended for sculpting the sketch of the crucified Christ on its recto was discovered by Tolnay on a version of the composition at Windsor Castle. The Windsor sketch and those related to it appear to have served as preparatory designs for what was probably intended to become the Basilica of St. Mary’s tabernacle door. Vasari documents that the project was to be designed by Michelangelo and cast by his assistant, Jacopo del Duca. Michelangelo died before the commission was complete, though on 15 March 1565, Jacopo writes to Michelangelo’s nephew stating, “I have started making the bronze tabernacle, depending on the model of his that was in Rome, already almost half complete.” Various circumstances interrupted the completion of the tabernacle, though its concept is later revitalized by Jacopo during preparations to sell a tabernacle, after Michelangelo’s designs, to Spain for Madrid’s El Escorial almost a decade later. The El Escorial tabernacle likewise encountered problems and was aborted but Jacopo successfully sold it shortly thereafter to the Carthusians of Padula. An etched date, 30 May 1572, along the base of the Padula tabernacle indicates its framework was already cast by then. A 1573 summary of the tabernacle also describes the original format for the door and relief panels, intended to be square in dimension. However, a last minute decision to heighten them was abruptly made during Jacopo’s negotiations to sell the tabernacle to King Phillip II of Spain. Shortly thereafter the commission was aborted. Philippe Malgouyres notes that the Padula tabernacle’s final state is a mixed product of the original design intended for Spain’s El Escorial, recycling various parts that had already been cast and adding new quickly finished elements for its sale to Padula, explaining its unusually discordant quality, particularly as concerns the crudeness of the door and relief panels which were clearly made later (by January 1574). Apart from his own admission in letters to Spain, it is apparent, however, that Jacopo relied upon his deceased master’s designs while hastily realizing the Padula panels. If Michelangelo had already earlier conceived a crucifix model, and Jacopo had access to that model, its logical he could have hastily employed it for incorporation on the door panel to the tabernacle. It is worth noting some modifications he made to the model, extending Christ’s arms further up in order to fit them into the scale of the panel and further lowering his chin to his chest in order to instill physiognomic congruence. A crude panel of the Deposition also follows after Michelangelo’s late sketches and is likewise known by examples thought to be modifications by Jacopo based upon Michelangelo’s initial sculptural conception (see Malgouyres: La Deposition du Christ de Jacopo del Duca, chef-d’oeuvre posthume de Michel-Ange). Jacopo’s appropriation of an original model by Michelangelo for more than one relief on the Padula tabernacle adds further indication that the crucifix was not an object unique to Jacopo’s hand, as few scholars have posited, but rather belongs to Michelangelo’s original...
Category

16th Century Renaissance Antique Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Liberty Statue United States Flag Sculpture
Located in Paris, FR
Sculpture Liberty Statue United States flag painted. Sculpture in melting. Unique and Exceptional Piece.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary French Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Aluminum

Lladró Flowers Market Sculpture. Limited Edition
Located in New York City, NY
This high porcelain creation takes its name and inspiration from Le Marché aux fleurs, a beautiful flower market in Paris by the banks of the Seine, which opened in 1830. Boasting a wealth of sculptural, floral and decorative details, this composition recreates a typical period scene and transports us to the idyllic Romanticism of the 19th century. The rich fabrics, lace and colors of the ladies’ gowns...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Painted Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

Recently Viewed

View All