Bust of Apollonio Massa

myminifactory

This plaster cast is taken from a terracotta model for a marble portrait of the renowned physician Apollonio Massa created in 1572 by Alessandro Vittoria, formerly housed in the church of San Domenico di Castello in Venice. The sitter is depicted in contemporary attire within the model, but is shown wearing classicizing drapery in the final version. A skilled sculptor, architect, stuccoist, and master of bronze work, Alessandro Vittoria was a prominent portrait sculptor in 16th-century Venice. Signor Tombola, a skilled plaster-cast maker in Venice, crafted the cast. Plaster casts were highly sought after during the 19th century, when reproductions of great works of sculpture and architecture were deemed essential for the training of artists. To create a plaster cast, a separating substance is applied to the surface of the work being reproduced, followed by the creation of a plaster mould from that substance. The mould can then be used to produce any number of additional plaster copies. These casts were often sold to artists and later in the century to art colleges for study purposes. Gallery location: Cast Courts, Room 46b, The Weston Cast Court, case FS, shelf NCourtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London