PERMOSER, Balthasar

This is - beside the sculptural decoration of the Zwinger in Dresden - the most famous masterpiece of the artist.

A native of Kammer, in Bavaria, Permoser learned his art in Salzburg, Vienna and Italy, in particular in Venice, Rome and Florence. In 1689 he was called to the court of Dresden by Frederick Augustus of Saxony and there was set to work, in collaboration with the architect P�ppelman, on the Zwinger, a palace with ample grounds for open-air festivities. Derived from Italian sources, Permoser’s art combined capricious curves with decorative exuberance in a half-pompous, half-bucolic style which became the standard for Rococo garden statuary.

Toward the end of his career, about 1725, Permoser essayed a bust of a Damned Soul. Still in thrall to Bernini’s image, he engulfed the countenance - mouth wide open - in flames.

During his long stay in Italy, Balthasar Permoser worked for the ducal court of the Medici in Florence, in the atelier of Giovanni Battista Foggini. Here he absorbed fully the spirit of Italian baroque art, and he was instrumental in transporting the style north of the Alps, where it flourished well into the eighteenth century.

Carved during his Italian period, the bust of Marsyas embodies the lessons the artist learned in Rome and Florence, while revealing his own distinctive artistic character.

Permoser took inspiration from Bernini’s famous work, the Damned Soul. That bust similarly shows a man screaming, face muscles taut and hair coursing wildly. Permoser carried aspects of this bust further, unafraid to exaggerate features to the point of deformity.

During his long stay in Italy, Balthasar Permoser worked for the ducal court of the Medici in Florence, in the atelier of Giovanni Battista Foggini. Here he absorbed fully the spirit of Italian baroque art, and he was instrumental in transporting the style north of the Alps, where it flourished well into the eighteenth century.

Carved during his Italian period, the bust of Marsyas embodies the lessons the artist learned in Rome and Florence, while revealing his own distinctive artistic character.

Permoser took inspiration from Bernini’s famous work, the Damned Soul. That bust similarly shows a man screaming, face muscles taut and hair coursing wildly. Permoser carried aspects of this bust further, unafraid to exaggerate features to the point of deformity.

Princess Violante of Bavaria was the wife of Grand Prince Ferdinando de’ Medici. She wed Ferdinando in 1689. This ivory portrait was a gift to the future bridegroom by the artist himself. Balthasar Permoser, during his 14-year stay in Florence as official court turner, made various works in ivory for the Grand Prince besides this medallion with the Princess Violante.

These supporting figures are from the entrance to the Zwinger Gallery in Dresden. The superlative carvings of Permoser and others in Dresden are a landmark for quality even in the cultivated Saxon capital.

Between 1676 and 1690 Permoser worked at the Medici court in Florence as an ivory turner. The pair of torch holder in the form of Moors can be attributed to Permoser on stylistic ground. He probably made the two Moors for Prince Ferdinando in 1683.