Jean-François de Troy

myminifactory

The subject of this marble bust is the renowned painter Jean-Francois de Troy, who was appointed Director of the French Academy in Rome in 1783. He was a pre-eminent figure among French sculptors, who studied under him in Rome. A terracotta and plaster model for this bust can still be seen at the French Academy in Rome. Although these works are unsigned, the sculptor is almost certainly René-Michel (Michelange) Slodtz, who was a close friend of the sitter. René-Michel (Michelange) Slodtz was one of five sons of the skilled sculptor Sébastien Slodtz. He won first prize for Sculpture at the Académie in Paris and went to Rome two years later, where he stayed until 1746 when he returned to Paris. In Rome, he was profoundly influenced by the sculpture around him and particularly by the work of Bernini. This bust, with its confident and energetic depiction of drapery, shows both the elegance of Bernini's work as well as a remarkable skill in handling marble. Slodtz became the most distinguished French sculptor in Rome at that time. The renowned painter Jean-Francois de Troy was appointed Director of the French Academy in Rome in 1738. A terracotta and plaster model for this bust is still to be seen there. This bust was attributed to the German sculptor Willem de Groff when it was inventoried in 1952. However, François Souchal later attributed the terracotta and plaster busts to Michelange Slodtz in his publication on the Slodtz family. Terence Hodgkinson supported this attribution for the V&A marble bust and firmly identified the sitter as a result of Souchal's work. Despite this, François Souchal re-attributed it to Pierre Lestache in 1982 after seeing the marble at the V&A. However, Anne-Lise Desmas later rejected this attribution and attributed the bust to Slodtz. This object is part of "Scan The World", a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory. We are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks, and landmarks from across the globe for public access. Scan the World is an open-source community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com. The marble bust was scanned using photogrammetry technology. It was processed using Agisoft PhotoScan courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.