Gips naar een antieke portretbuste Possibly 1824

Johannes Tavenraat rendered this graphite drawing of a plaster cast after an antique portrait bust sometime in the 19th century. During this period, the detailed study and copying of classical sculptures was fundamental to academic artistic training. But what does it mean to copy? What happens when an artist makes a copy of a copy? This work can be seen as a kind of ‘shadow’ removed from its source by several degrees. It speaks to the nature of reproduction and to the power of antiquity, its forms, and its enduring legacy. The image also hints at the power structures inherent in the art world. Who gets to make art, who gets to be portrayed, and who decides what is worthy of being copied? Look closely at the bust’s solemn gaze, the turn of its lips, and the weight of the drapery. Consider the long journey of this image, how it carries echoes of an ancient world into our own.