A Bronze Passion Ensemble by François du Quesnoy and François Girardon

Abstract

A fine bronze statuette representing a Christ at the Column recently entered the collection of the Rijksmuseum, sparking an inquiry into why it shares so many commonalities with a bronze Ecce Homo acquired by the museum in 1957. In addition to observable stylistic parallels, technical analysis conducted by Rijksmuseum scientist Arie Pappot revealed that both statuettes were cast in the same (probably Parisian) workshop around 1700. The original model of the Christ at the Column is attributed to François du Quesnoy (1597-1643), whose models circulated around France and Italy. Among the many who collected his works was the French court sculptor François Girardon (1628-1715), whose collection, illustrated on a series of thirteen plates, comprised no less than eighty-three terracotta and four bronzes by Du Quesnoy himself or made after his models. In pursuit of symmetry in the presentaion of his sculptures, the accomplished sculptor Girardon, as argued here, could very conceivably have created and cast the Ecce Homo as a companion piece to the Christ at the Column already held in his collection. The outcome is a harmonious ensemble of mirrored contrapposto figures, an exceptional religious duo calling for an introspective pilgrimage to the suffering of Christ.