BY JAN PIETER VAN BAURSCHEIT I, (1669-1728), CIRCA 1720 Depicted raising her quiver in her left hand and holding her bow in her right, partially draped around the torso, with a dog and a boar's head to her feet, on an integrally carved square base inscribed to the front 'P V B AURSCHEIT F. AD 1721(?), on a square-based spreading stone pedestal decorated with a cartouche and a bouquet of flowers, restorations 63 in. (160 cm.) high; 110 1/4 in. (280 cm.) high, overall
COMPARATIVE LITERATUE: Exhibition catalogue, Europäische Barockplastik am Niederrhein - Grupello und seine Zeit, Dusseldorf, Kunstmuseum, 4 April - 20 June 1971, pp. 259-261, pls. 118, 131 Exhibition catalogue, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, 1973, pp. 265-8, pls. 360-2 Exhibition catalogue, La Sculpture au Sciècle de Rubens, Brussels, Musee d'Art Ancien, 15 July - 2 October 1977, pp. 187-194 P. Philippot, D. Coekelberghs, P. Loze and D. Vautier, L'architecture Religieuse et la Sculpture Baroques dans les Pays-Bas Meridionaux et La Principaute de Liege 1600-1770, Sprimont, 2003
Notes
Though German in origin, Jan Pieter van Baurscheit the Elder predominantly lived, worked and died in Antwerp. In 1691 he is documented as having entered the Guild of St. Luke there, under the tutelage of Peter Scheemakers the Elder. Scheemaker's style clearly impressed the young van Baurscheit, who seems to have adopted his master"s understanding of Baroque art by incorporating a "classical" type of monumentality in his compositions while also maintaining the freedom of form and sensitivity of detail. Consider, for example, Scheemaker's' St. Joseph in Notre-Dame, Aarschot, and van Baurscheit"s Virgin Child in St. eter'r's Church, Antwerp, (Philippot, Coekelberghs, Loze and Vautier, op. cit, pp. 964 and 1012 respectively). In both instances, one can detect the similarities of form, composition and treatment of the drapery. However, it is in the emotional impact of the groups that the most obvious comparisons can be seen: both are exemplary of the Baroque sense of monumentality, but due to the sensitivity of the carving, they impress upon the viewer the fact that they are sober expressions of humanity.
While van Baurscheit worked tirelessly on ecclesiastical commissions he was also known to have worked for a number of private patrons. Unfortunately, relatively little is known about these latter works, which seem to have resulted in only a small number of portrait busts and a body of garden statuary. Of the portrait busts, one need only look at his sensitive and dynamic depiction of Francois-Henry de Montmorency, Duke of Luxembourg (Sotheby"s, London, 11 December 1986, lot 159) to see how he recreated his trademark impression of monumentality on an intimate scale.
In connection to the lot being offered here, however, our attention is drawn to his production of garden statuary. While he did continue to work on religious commissions up to his death in 1728, almost all of van Baurscheit"s secular works appear to have been executed in the last decade of his life. The present figure of the hunter goddess, Diana, is no exception (although weathering to the base has weakened the definition of the numbers, she was most probably carved in 1721). Based on a number of stylistic similarities, the Diana is closest to a series of four stone figures in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, representing Androcles and the Lion and three scenes from The Labours of Hercules (see Rijksmuseum catalogue, op. cit., pls. 360a-d). All five figures are rich in the "classical" vocabulary that the artist introduced to his earlier religious works, but in these instances he has been able to go further by demonstrating his fine understanding of anatomy.
While none of these figures are directly related to any particular antique prototype, all five share the artist"s interest in musculature and the way in which an action in one muscle group affects the positioning of another. This is perhaps most evident when looking at the Diana, who is depicted standing in contrapposto triumphantly raising her quiver in her left arm. The action of raising her left arm sets the natural position of her shoulders at an acute angle. This, combined with the raising of her left heel, the bending of her knee and resultant twist of the hips has the overall effect of creating a smooth, elongated, s-curve. It is clear that this highly scientific process of determining the action and reaction of the various muscle groups interested van Baurscheit as a way to enhance the overall aesthetic of his groups. But aside from these technical and stylistic debts to antiquity, Diana and her contemporaries remain very much the product of the 18th century as seen especially in the treatment of the drapery. After creating compositions that were anatomically correct, van Baurscheit would also play with the interaction between clothing and body. Diana"s drapery serves no sartorial function, but the complex way in which it hangs over her body and appears to have caught a gust of wind provides another opportunity for the artist to introduce an extra element of dynamism to the composition.
A similar sense of dynamism can be seen in possibly the closest comparison to the Diana, which is a similarly sized sandstone figure of Apollo in Dunsborough Park, Surrey (see comparative illustration 1). Signed "P.V.B.I.F." on the base, this figure is not dated but when compared to the Diana it is obvious that both figures were carved at roughly the same time, but probably intended for different patrons, due to the different finishes of the bases. Even with a cursory comparison, one can see the similarities in the composition: the upraised left arm, the contrapposto, the drapery and foliage covering the genitals. Closer study also reveals that van Baurscheit rendered various details such as the facial features in a very similar way; simply compare their heavy upper eyelids and pursed lips. Though undocumented, what both the Apollo and Diana figures represent is a tangible example of van Baurscheit"s methodology, interest in antiquity and evolution of style. Considered in the broader context of his oeuvre, these two works and the other surviving sandstone figures are representative of an artist who was highly accomplished in working on diverse commissions for diverse patrons, and therefore capable of demonstrating two very distinct styles.
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