Five Important Bronze Figures: Herauts d'Armes. . Guillaume de Groot (1839-1922), Brussels, Belgium. 19th century. ... (Total: 5 Items)

Description

Five Important Bronze Figures: Herauts d'Armes

Guillaume de Groot (1839-1922), Brussels, Belgium
19th century
Bronze, marble
Unmarked
49 inches high x 22 inches wide
Guillaume de Groot was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1839. He rose to become a member of the Belgian Royal Academy with his works attaining much notoriety in the 1870s and 1880s throughout Europe. De Groot specialized in the military form in bronze and his works have been eagerly collected for over 100 years, especially after his death in 1922.

The five bronze figures here represent standard bearers and warriors of the Papal Swiss Guard in 16th-century uniforms. With each measuring approximately 49 inches in height, the soldiers, while similarly attired in the classical military dress of the Swiss Guards, the protectors of Vatican City and the Pope of the Catholic Church, they each have different accoutrements such as swords, banners and standards of the Vatican. Two carry the halberd, a lance with an axe affixed to the top, the traditional weapon of the Swiss Guards, along with the others carrying another typical weapon of the Guard, the broadsword.

Guillaume de Groot provided exquisite details in his bronze work; the Papal standard carried by one of the guardsmen, the bloused doublet that is bound at the knee, even the arms the men carry are strikingly realistic. De Groot depicts them as they would have appeared at their introduction to the Pope in their first appearance as the Pontifical Swiss Guard in 1506. The bronze has a nice, even patina and each figure is attached to a pink marble 6" round base.

Provenance:
Acquired in Brussels in 1989.

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