{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O40947"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O40947/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2007BM5876/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2007BM5876/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2007BM5876","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2007BM5878","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O40947/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O40947","accessionNumber":"REPRO.1888-518","objectType":"Statue","titles":[{"title":"St John the Baptist","type":"assigned by artist"}],"summaryDescription":"This haggard and expressive figure is a late work by Donatello, who in 1457 delivered the bronze to Siena Cathedral for their Chapel dedicated to that saint. The right arm was however missing, and it is evident, from the awkwardness of what must be a later replacement arm, that it was not designed to point upwards at this angle.\n\nDonatello (1386-1466) was the most imaginative and versatile Florentine sculptor of the early Renaissance, famous for his rendering of human character and for his dramatic narratives. He achieved these ends by studying ancient Roman sculpture and amalgamating its ideas with an acute and sympathetic observation of everyday life. Together with Alberti, Brunelleschi, Masaccio and Uccello, Donatello created the Italian Renaissance style, which he introduced to Rome, Siena and Padua at various stages of his career. He was long-lived and prolific: between 1401 and 1461 there are 400 documentary references to him, some for nearly every year. However, there is no contemporary biography, and the earliest account, in Vasari’s Vite (1550), is confused. \n\nPlaster casts were especially sought after during the 19th century, when reproductions of great works of sculpture and architecture were thought crucial for the training of artists. A separating substance was applied to the surface of the work to be reproduced, and a plaster mould made from that. The mould would then be used to make any number of additional plaster copies. These were often sold to artists, and later in the century to art colleges for study purposes.","physicalDescription":"","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Donatello","id":"A1979"},"association":{"text":"sculptor","id":"AAT25181"},"note":"original"}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"plaster","id":"AAT14922"}],"techniques":[{"text":"casting","id":"AAT53104"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Plaster cast, painted","categories":[{"text":"Sculpture","id":"THES48896"},{"text":"Christianity","id":"THES48978"},{"text":"Religion","id":"THES48900"},{"text":"Plaster Cast","id":"THES270451"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"SCP","id":"THES48600"},"images":["2007BM5876","2007BM5878"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"46B","id":"THES49798"},"free":"","case":"FS","shelf":"N","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Statue","id":"AAT47600"}],[{"text":"Plaster Cast","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Florence (city)","id":"x28848"},"association":{"text":"sculpted","id":"x30774"},"note":"original "},{"place":{"text":"Berlin","id":"x28746"},"association":{"text":"cast","id":"x32615"},"note":"probably"}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1457","earliest":"1457-01-01","latest":"1457-12-31"},"association":{"text":"sculpted","id":"x30774"},"note":"original"},{"date":{"text":"ca. 1888","earliest":"1883-01-01","latest":"1892-12-31"},"association":{"text":"cast","id":"x32615"},"note":"plaster cast"}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"190.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"51","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Acquired in exchange from the Berlin Museum in 1888 at a cost of £4 10s (90 marks)","historicalContext":"In 1457, Donatello delivered the figure of St John to the Cathedral authorities in three parts, with its right forearm missing. The statue was recorded as in storage in the Cathedral in 1467, with its arm still lacking. It is uncertain when the right arm was made up and the figure installed in the Cathedral. It is evident, from the awkwardness of the reconstruction, that the arm was not designed to point upwards at this angle.","briefDescription":"Plaster cast, painted plaster, of St John the Baptist, after the bronze original in the Cathedral of Siena, by Donatello, probably Siena, 1457, cast, probably Germany (Berlin), ca. 1888","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[{"text":"John (Saint John the Baptist)","id":"N450"}],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"The expressive figure is a plaster copy of a late work by Donatello. The original bronze sculpture was made for the cathedral in Siena. When Donatello delivered it, the figure did not have a right arm. The awkwardly positioned arm seen here must be a later replacement. St John is shown clothed in camel hair, as he is often depicted. The 19th-century cast is painted to look like the original bronze.","date":{"text":"2014","earliest":"2014-01-01","latest":"2014-12-31"}}],"partNumbers":["REPRO.1888-518"],"accessionNumberNum":"518","accessionNumberPrefix":"REPRO","accessionYear":1888,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":["2019LN1208","2019LN9163","2019LR1635","2019LV2580","2019LW9552"],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-22","recordCreationDate":"2000-06-28","availableToBook":false}}