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Bust of a Child

Bust of a Child is a 40 cm high, 30 cm wide bas-relief carved in gray Tuscan sandstone (pietra serena). Acquired by the Louvre in 1859, it is now displayed in the Denon Wing’s Donatello Gallery, among Italian and Spanish sculpture. Long attributed to the French sculptor Jean Goujon and dated to 1571, it is now presented more cautiously as the work of an anonymous Florentine artist from the late 15th or early 16th century. Its provenance was linked to the Cemetery of the Innocents in Paris, and its attribution has been revised by later art historians.

Bust of a Child in gray stone, shown in profile with curly hair and draped shoulders.
Bust of a Child in gray stone, carved in profile with detailed curly hair and draped clothing.
October 2013 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Bust of a child shown in profile, with tightly curled hair and draped clothing.
Bust of a Child, seen in profile with tightly curled hair and draped fabric.
October 2013 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Bust of a Child in profile, showing a curly-haired young figure in draped garments against a dark background.
Bust of a Child shown in profile, carved in stone with curly hair and draped clothing.
October 2013 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Stone bust of a child in profile, mounted on a light textured wall within an arched frame.
Bust of a Child, shown as a stone profile relief mounted on a wall.
October 2013 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Bust of a child in gray stone relief, shown in profile with curly hair and draped clothing.
Bust of a Child, a gray stone relief mounted on a wall.
October 2013 © · CC BY-SA 3.0

Identification

TitleBust of a Child
Original titleBuste d'enfant

Historical context

Art historical contextItalian Renaissance
Datelate 16th century or early 17th century; earlier attribution had dated it to 1571

Creator

Attributioncautiously attributed to an anonymous Florentine sculptor; earlier attributed to Jean Goujon, and at the beginning of the 20th century Wilhelm Bode proposed Antonio Rossellino
Geographical association of artistFlorentine

Discovery and provenance

ProvenanceReported by Viel-Castel to have come from a tomb in the Cemetery of the Innocents in Paris
Early noticeNoticed there by the engraver Jean-Pierre Droz
Acquisition by Jean-Pierre DrozAcquired after 1785 from workers involved in the destruction of the Cemetery of the Innocents
Ownership transferJules-Antoine Droz later gave it to Horace de Viel-Castel
Ownership in 1854Recently owned by Horace de Viel-Castel
Interpretation of originInitially believed by Viel-Castel and Droz to be a funerary monument raised by Jean Goujon in memory of his twelve-year-old daughter; the model's identity remains disputed and uncertain
Basis for earlier attributionDroz said he had seen the relief above a funerary slab bearing the name Marie Goujon and the date 1571 in old lettering

Physical characteristics

Dimensions40 cm high, 30 cm wide
Shape / framingThe portrait is set within a frame with an arched upper edge, not a circular or oval motif
Typebas-relief

Materials

Materialgray Tuscan sandstone (pietra serena)
Material attributionViel-Castel described it as a very fine, very hard gray granite

Appearance

SubjectPortrait bust of a child

Location and ownership

Current ownerLouvre Museum
Acquisition date1859
Current display locationDonatello Gallery, mezzanine level of the Denon Wing, room 160, Louvre
Earlier display locationBefore 1874 it was moved or stored in reserves; afterward Louis Courajod placed it in a window recess of the new Italian room (room VI of the museum of medieval and Renaissance sculpture)
Historical display noteIn 1863 it was said to be on display in the section called the museum of the Renaissance

History and restoration

Attribution historyThe attribution to Jean Goujon was widely accepted by many mid-19th-century authors, then later dropped after scholars showed that Goujon had left the Louvre chantier in 1562, moved to Bologna, and died before 1568
Interpretive traditionMid-19th-century authors relied on Dezallier d'Argenville's tradition that Goujon died in Paris in 1572 during the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre
Curatorial attributionLouis Courajod attributed the relief to the school of Donatello; the museum sculpture catalogue retained Courajod's conclusion
Stylistic comparisonCompared with works by disciples or imitators of Donatello such as Desiderio da Settignano or Mino da Fiesole

Other

BibliographyHorace de Viel-Castel, Mémoires sur le règne de Napoléon III 1851-1864, edited and annotated by Éric Anceau, Paris, Robert Laffont, 2005, pp. 381-382 and 386; Theodor Josef Hubert Hoffbauer, Paris à travers les âges, ed. Pascal Payen-Appenzeller, vol. I, Paris, Tchou, 1978, p. 372, fig. 29; Wilhelm Bode, Florentiner Bildhauer der Renaissance, Berlin, Bruno Cassirer, 1911, p. 216; Eugène de Ménorval, Paris depuis ses origines jusqu'à nos jours, vol. II, Paris, Firmin-Didot, 1889, p. 332; Ernest Bosc, Dictionnaire de l'art, de la curiosité et du bibelot, Paris, Firmin-Didot, 1883, pp. 90-92, fig. 78; Louis Auvray, 'Salon de 1867 - VIII', Revue artistique, vol. XIII, p. 86; René, 'Le charnier des Innocents', La Semaine des familles, pp. 103-105; Gilbert, 'Le vieux Paris - VII', La Semaine des familles, p. 406