CAST FROM A MODEL BY ALBERT-ERNEST CARRIER-BELLEUSE, CIRCA 1880

During the 1860s and 70s, Carrier-Belleuse (d. 1887) continued the 18th century trend of representing historical personalities, executing a series of ten busts depicting artists and composers, commencing in 1863 with Rembrandt and Dürer and culminating in 1874 with Murillo and the present work, Velasquez. In response to their popularity, the complete series was reproduced in varying sizes in marble, terracotta and bronze.