Communication with the purpose of culturally promoting artists included in the Fundación María Cristina Masaveu Peterson Collection, works protected by intellectual property rights. Their total or partial reproduction or processing by any means, or their transmission or cession in any form is forbidden without the authorisation of the holder of the rights to the works
Retrato masculino
TECHNICAL DATA
Author: Agustín Querol (Tortosa, 1860 – Madrid, 1909)
Title: Retrato masculino (Male portrait )
Year: circa 1900-1909
Technique: marble and gilded bronze
Size: 62 x 30 x 53 cm
This is a static, realistic, frontal portrayal of the sitter, a man whose identity we do not know, although the bust bears a close formal and stylistic relationship with Querol’s 1906 portrait of Santiago Ramón y Cajal. It is carved from white marble with the soft, polished modelling characteristic of Art Nouveau, so it was probably made in around 1900–1909. The bronze base on which the bust rests simulates a pedestal and contributes to conferring greater presence on the figure. It is also decorated with summarily carved floral motifs which fit within fin-de-siècle aesthetics.
This sculpture was acquired by the Fundación María Cristina Masaveu Peterson at the art auction in April 2017 held at Madrid’s Sala Retiro (lot 641).