JOSEPH GALVAN* (1705-1766)

Details
JOSEPH GALVAN* (1705-1766)

A reclining Male Nude

oil on canvas
37¾ x 53½in. (95.8 x 135.9cm.)
Provenance
with Thos. Agnew & Sons, London, (Master Paintings, Recent Acquisitions. June 14-July 28, 1989, no. 12 where noted that the picture was originally inscribed on the reverse of the canvas 'Joseph Galvan fecit'); purchased by Rudolf Nureyev on Oct. 24, 1989 for $180,000

Lot Essay

The pose is based, in reverse, on the famous Dying Gaul, a Roman copy of a bronze original of circa 230-220 B.C., in the Museo Capitolino, Rome.

Galvan was born in Castille and was an architect and sculptor, according to Bermudez's 'Diccionario Historico de Los mas illustres Profesores de las Bellas Artes en Espana', 1800. He was closely associated with Salvator Carmona (1709-1767) with whom he collaborated on the statues of several Toledo churches. He worked also in Huesca, Manresa and Teruel