PORTRAIT OF AN EMPEROR

This carved portrait head shares many of the characteristics of Damian Forment's carvings in alabaster at the cathedral of Huesca, executed in the early 1520s. For example, Forment's reliefs of Christ Crowned by Thorns and Christ before Pilate on the high altar both include faces with the same narrow nose, high cheekbones and sweeping drapery as can be seen in the lot offered here (see G. Weise, Die Plastiker der Renaissance und des Frühbarock im nördlichen Spanien, Tubingen, 1957, reprinted 1958, I, pls. 36 and 37). Forment's stylised and mannered forms often recall a style of the late medieval period and yet he is credited with introducing Renaissance forms to Aragon. In the present work the inclusion of a laurel leaf crown - a classical motif - is a clear indication that this is the work of someone already influenced by renaissance ideals. The wonderful plasticity of the forms and delicate carving of the warm-coloured Spanish alabaster can also be seen on a closely comparable portrait relief sold at Christie's, Paris, 8 December 2015, lot 6.