A Fine Terracotta Bust of a Young man, 19th century

19th century, possibly German
Bust of a youth
Terracotta, on integral socle
Inscribed/dated on left shoulder: 'G. E. 1876' with old inventory number ‘65’
19.5 cm. / 7 ¾ ins high

This diminutive yet captivating bust of a classical young subject wearing a garland of flowers is a fine example of terracotta modelling on a small scale, exhibiting stylistic influences from both nineteenth-century Neoclassical and eighteenth-century Rococo sculpture.

There is no obvious antique or modern prototype for the present bust; this, together with the fact that it is inscribed and dated, indicates that it was created as an original work of art, rather than being a copy of another work or after the antique.

The garland of flowers, elaborate all’antica hairstyle and idealised facial features would suggest that this bust shows a female in the guise of a classical goddess, such as Flora, the Roman goddess of Spring. The facial features, however, whose sharp brows, long nose and pronounced chin appear to be masculine, suggest that the present bust could be a very rare sculptural example of male cross-dressing.

According to this reading, the bust could represent a beautiful young male subject embellished with feminine attributes, the subject perhaps being based on a real-life model who sat for the sculptor and was quickly captured in clay. This would make the present bust an interesting object for the study of gender fluidity in nineteenth-century European art.

Although no author has been confirmed, the initial ‘G.E.’ may identify it with the German Romantic sculptor Gustav Eberlein (1847-1926), who studied in Rome in the early 1870s and whose mature works, such as his Boy with a Thorn (1879-86, Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin) demonstrate both classical training and Rococo influences.

RELATED LITERATURE:
Adolf Rosenberg, 'Eberlein'. Bielefeld and Leipzig, 1903, pp. 4-5, figs 1-2