New photography by Ed Pollard captured with a digital camera-2007.

Sculpture

Artist Francesco Bertos (Italian, 1678 - 1741)

CultureItalian

Dateca. 1732

MediumBronze

Dimensions42 x 22 x 19 in. (106.7 x 55.9 x 48.3 cm)
Base: 20 5/8 x 18 1/2 in. (52.4 x 47 cm)

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.2609

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 205

Label TextFrancesco Bertos Italian, 1678–1735 Sculpture, Arithmetic, and Architecture, ca. 1732 Bronze Like daredevil acrobats in the Cirque du Soleil, the figures in Francesco Bertos’ sculptures balance themselves atop one another in dizzying displays that draw the eye up and around in broad spirals. These breathtakingly complex works originally served as table centerpieces and were meant to be viewed from all sides. Their subjects are equally complex. Using the witty, allegorical language so beloved by Baroque artists, Bertos celebrates the arts of Sculpture, Arithmetic, and Architecture (behind you) and Painting and Music (behind you, at right). In the process, he gives shape to the intricate interplay of aesthetic ideals and human endeavor needed to bring those arts to fruition and lift them to the pinnacle of creative perfection. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.2609 ProvenanceMr. Lionel Harris; Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.; Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. to the Chrysler Museum, 1971. Exhibition History"Large or Small, Bronze or Wood, Painted or Plain: Problems and Solutions in Sculpture," The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA, July 9 - Sept. 13, 1981. (Exhib. cat. p. 18). "Masterworks from the Chrysler Museum," North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC, April 9, 2013 - February 2, 2014. Published ReferencesW.L. Hildburgh. "Some Bronze Groups by Francesco Bertos," _Apollo_. XXVII. London: The Field Press Ltd. 02/1938:pp. 81-85, figs. IV and V. David W. Steadman. _Large or Small, Bronze or Wood, Painted or Plain: Problems and Solutions in Sculpture_. The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA. 1981: p. 18 (SCULPTURE illustrated). Chrysler Museum. _Selections from the Permanent Collection: The Chrysler Museum_. Norfolk, VA: Chrysler Museum of Art. 1982: p. 44. Jefferson C. Harrison _The Chrysler Museum Handbook of the European and American Collections: Selected Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings_. The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA, 1991, p. 64-65, #49.