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- Attributed to Barthélemy Prieur (c. 1536 - 1611)
- An Acrobat
- Paris, France
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- Date: c. 1600
- Object Type: Statuette
- Medium: Copper alloy. Verde Antico marble socle
- Height: 39.6 cm
- Width: 10 cm
- Depth: 10 cm
- Inv: S91
- Location: Sixteenth Century Gallery
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- Description
- Provenance
- Further Reading
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- This statuette is said to have been Wallace’s last acquisition. He was a keen admirer of Renaissance bronzes, contrary to the 4th Marquess of Hertford, and gathered an important collection of pre-1700 bronze sculpture.
A man standing on his hands is a very unusual theme in sculpture. It may have been inspired by a painting, known only from a drawing by Primaticcio (1504–1570), representing the Masquerade of Persepolis. This North Italian artist, who worked in France, included men performing a handstand in his composition.
The sculptor brilliantly expressed the balance of the posture in the angle of the legs, and the backwards, off-centre turn of the head.
- This statuette is said to have been Wallace’s last acquisition. He was a keen admirer of Renaissance bronzes, contrary to the 4th Marquess of Hertford, and gathered an important collection of pre-1700 bronze sculpture.