Tommaso RUES

(circa 1639 - 1703)

Pair of marble busts depicting Minerva and Purity


17th century
Marble

H. 120 cm - W. 70 cm - D. 35 cm (47 1/4 in - 27 1/2 in - 12 3/4 in)

An attribution confirmed by Maichol Clemente, the specialist

The bust of Minerva with a plume-adorned helmet and an elegantly draped tunic. An identical model, though smaller, features in the Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor.
Purity, the second bust, symbolized by hair-adorned palm, clad in an elegant drape revealing her breast.
The pair of busts presented here is remarkable for its significantly large size, its composition and specific iconography. Each of the three sculptures is emblematic of Tommaso Rues’s style. A feminine ideal of beauty usually expressed in busts, hair-locks gently trailing on to their shoulders, with almond-shaped eyes looking up. Noticeable, his particular care to details especially in the drapery.
 
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Maichol CLEMENTE, « Tommaso Rues : contributo al catalogo » in Zbornik za umetnostno zgodovino, Archives d’histoire de l’art, Nouvelle série XLIX, Ljubljana, 2013, pp.73-95.