The status of plaster casts after antique statues. The German experience and its reception in France (1880-1920)
This contribution focuses on collections of plaster casts of ancient sculptures, which proliferated in museums and university collections in the German states during the second half of the 19th century. Around 1900, plaster copies of sculptures began to lose their appeal to the public. However, the...
Salvato in:
| Pubblicato in: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/cel, |
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| Autore principale: | |
| Natura: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Lingua: | Anglais |
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Les Cahiers de l'École du Louvre
2025
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| Soggetti: | |
| Accesso online: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Riassunto: | This contribution focuses on collections of plaster casts of ancient sculptures, which proliferated in museums and university collections in the German states during the second half of the 19th century. Around 1900, plaster copies of sculptures began to lose their appeal to the public. However, the significant development of ancient archaeology in universities gave new impetus to this type of collection: they were used to give shape to the most recent hypotheses formulated on the original state and articulation of Greek and Roman sculptures preserved in international collections. This new scientific tool fascinated France, whose universities drew inspiration from this model. However, in the German states, the practice of reconstructing ancient sculptures using plaster quickly posed major problems; it even sparked a crisis that ultimately led to the decline of university plaster cast collections in favour of photography. |
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