Circle of Gabriel Grupello

This exuberant bust, probably representing the God of Wine or a Bacchant, compares stylistically to works by the Flemish sculptor Gabriel Grupello. Particular parallels can be drawn with Grupello's marble sculpture of Paris, now in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg (inv. no. Pl.O. 3356), which exhibits analogous features, with a small, upturned mouth, a prominent nose and almond-shaped eyes, as well as being carved in a similar veined white marble.

Gabriel Grupello trained with Artus Quellinus in Antwerp, before spending two years in Paris and Versailles. In 1674, he settled in Brussels, where he created his first significant works. During the 1680s he received commissions from illustrious patrons, including Charles II of Spain, William of Orange, and Frederick III, Elector of Brandenburg. In 1695 Grupello became court sculptor to Johann Wilhelm II, Elector Palatine in Dusseldorf, and there enjoyed a flourishing career until 1725. Grupello’s oeuvre is characterized by an adherence to the courtly style of Louis XIV, within the tradition of the Netherlandish Baroque established by Rubens and Quellinus.

RELATED LITERATURE

Europäische Barockplastik am Niederrhein. Grupello und seine Zeit, exh. cat. Kunstmuseum, Düsseldorf 1971