Attributed to Gabriel Grupello (Geraardsbergen 1644 - 1730 Kerkrade), Early 18th Century

Sotheby's London, 7 December 1989, lot 145;

Salomon Stodel Antiquities, Amsterdam;

From whom acquired by Aso O. Tavitian at TEFAF Maastricht, 12 March 2008.

The tunic, drapery and contrapposto stance of this finely carved wood figure of Minerva find a close parallel in Gabriel Grupello’s statue of Diana of about 1680-85, now in the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. Further comparison can be made with the Atalanta model which is usually attributed to Grupello, as well as his bronze Minerva in the Kunstmuseum, Dusseldorf (inv. no. 1938-30). The present figure’s languid pose is analogous to that of the sculptor’s Paris, whose marble version is now in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg (inv. no. Pl.O. 3356).

The Brussels-born sculptor 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, figs. 7, 23, 26 and 27;

J. Rasmussen, Barockplastik in Norddeutschland, exh. cat. Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg 1977, pp. 447-451.