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Source Description
Henry IV of France (1553-1609) here wears a laurel wreath, which, since the days of ancient Greece, has signaled a victor. The wreath and the king's relaxed smile suggest that he is both a great military leader and a compassionate father figure-the perfect "good king." Two other portraits of him are nearby.The surface of the bronze preserves the masterful modeling of the wax model. Flaws at the back of the neck may explain why this fine work was left in a rough state instead of being carefully finished like a nearly identical version in the Louvre Museum, Paris. The head was surely intended to top a bust or full-length statue prepared separately and possibly made of another material such as marble. Jacquet was sculptor to the king from 1595 and worked in both marble and bronze.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
9394
label
Portrait of Henry IV, King of France
core
obj
dtoType
sculpture
citationUrl
pageCount
4
Source metadata
id
9394
sourceUrl
contentType
sculpture
stage
normalized
title
Portrait of Henry IV, King of France
description
Henry IV of France (1553-1609) here wears a laurel wreath, which, since the days of ancient Greece, has signaled a victor. The wreath and the king's relaxed smile suggest that he is both a great military leader and a compassionate father figure-the perfect "good king." Two other portraits of him are nearby.The surface of the bronze preserves the masterful modeling of the wax model. Flaws at the back of the neck may explain why this fine work was left in a rough state instead of being carefully finished like a nearly identical version in the Louvre Museum, Paris. The head was surely intended to top a bust or full-length statue prepared separately and possibly made of another material such as marble. Jacquet was sculptor to the king from 1595 and worked in both marble and bronze.
provenance
Goldschmidt Collection; Jacques Seligmann, Paris, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1910, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 1605 (Baroque)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Sculpture
sculpture (visual works)
imageCount
4
pageCount
4
source
import
dimensionsRaw
12 7/16 in. (31.6 cm)
Source extras
med
bronze
creator_ids
3488
collection_ids
BAR
exhibition_ids
2178
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
caa80ffdd6a73726
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
7de808eaef0f21a0
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
049332e77d25cd1f
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
4
type
photo
mediaId
305db2a30b7cfc07
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no