The Modeller
Adriaen de Vries in Search of the viva figura
Published on 6. August 2025
Book
Hardback
428 pages
978-90-04-73732-7 (ISBN)
Description
"In these days the most famous modeller": this is how the Dutch sculptor Adriaen de Vries (1556-1626) was characterised in 1621. A virtuoso modeller, De Vries explored new ways to enliven his art. His bronze sculptures were made in a radically new, sketchy style, with free figure compositions and a vigorous treatment of human anatomy, often balancing on the border between realism and distortion.
This book explores how and why a Late-Renaissance sculptor broke so drastically with the prevailing stylistic paradigm of his time, in search of vivezza, natural liveliness, and the viva figura, the statue on the brink of coming to life. Adriaen de Vries aimed to create sculptures that move in the metaphorical no-man's land between death and life, back and forth from inert bronze to apparent vitality, as this study will argue.
This book explores how and why a Late-Renaissance sculptor broke so drastically with the prevailing stylistic paradigm of his time, in search of vivezza, natural liveliness, and the viva figura, the statue on the brink of coming to life. Adriaen de Vries aimed to create sculptures that move in the metaphorical no-man's land between death and life, back and forth from inert bronze to apparent vitality, as this study will argue.
Reviews / Votes
"A fundamental resource for all students of Adriaen de Vries and sculpture of the early baroque period."Holly (Marjorie) Trusted, Senior Curator Emerita of Sculpture, Victoria and Albert Museum. Full review at PSSA Reviews, November 6, 2025.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Leiden
Netherlands
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 251 mm
Width: 174 mm
Thickness: 29 mm
Weight
1250 gr
ISBN-13
978-90-04-73732-7 (9789004737327)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Frits Scholten, Ph.D. (2003, University of Amsterdam) is Senior Curator of Sculpture at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and holds the Chair of the History of Western Sculpture at the University of Amsterdam. He has published widely on late medieval and early modern sculpture.
Content
Contents
Preface
Prologue
List of Figures
1 Introduction: Turbulent Times, a Restless Life and a Dynamic Style
2 Orefice to sculptor nuovo
?1 Stopover in Rome?
?2?Florence
?3?Disegno: the Craftsman Becomes an Artist
?4?Collaborations
?5?De Vries as Artist-Goldsmith
3 Wax: ex caera formatas
?1 Symbolic Notions
?2?Sculptors' Wax
?3?Making the Modello
?4?Sketching in Wax: der meister erste hand
4 A Loose and Careless Style
?1?An Unorthodox and Exclusive 'Hand'
?2?A Style for virtuosi
?3?quella esser vera arte, che non appare esser arte
5 Imperfetto and non-finito: Perfection in the Imperfect
6 Vivezza, Skin and Touch: between the Seen and Unseen
7 Pose and Movement: the viva figura
8 Turning the Farnese Bull
?1?Revolving Sculptures
?2?Turning and Modelling
?3?Molte vedute
?4?Machina, Movement and Theatricality
?5?Architecture, Lighting and Turning
9 Living Bronze
?1?Alchemy, Mining and Bronze Casting
?2?Resurrection
?3?Aus einem Guss
?4?Kunststuecke machen
10 Epilogue: Plasticity, Movement, and the Loose Style as a Sign of Modernity
?1?Painterliness
?2?Ein malerische Spaetstil?
Notes
Bibliography
Preface
Prologue
List of Figures
1 Introduction: Turbulent Times, a Restless Life and a Dynamic Style
2 Orefice to sculptor nuovo
?1 Stopover in Rome?
?2?Florence
?3?Disegno: the Craftsman Becomes an Artist
?4?Collaborations
?5?De Vries as Artist-Goldsmith
3 Wax: ex caera formatas
?1 Symbolic Notions
?2?Sculptors' Wax
?3?Making the Modello
?4?Sketching in Wax: der meister erste hand
4 A Loose and Careless Style
?1?An Unorthodox and Exclusive 'Hand'
?2?A Style for virtuosi
?3?quella esser vera arte, che non appare esser arte
5 Imperfetto and non-finito: Perfection in the Imperfect
6 Vivezza, Skin and Touch: between the Seen and Unseen
7 Pose and Movement: the viva figura
8 Turning the Farnese Bull
?1?Revolving Sculptures
?2?Turning and Modelling
?3?Molte vedute
?4?Machina, Movement and Theatricality
?5?Architecture, Lighting and Turning
9 Living Bronze
?1?Alchemy, Mining and Bronze Casting
?2?Resurrection
?3?Aus einem Guss
?4?Kunststuecke machen
10 Epilogue: Plasticity, Movement, and the Loose Style as a Sign of Modernity
?1?Painterliness
?2?Ein malerische Spaetstil?
Notes
Bibliography