Models by Franz Anton Bustelli, before 1760; moulded and painted 1765–1770
Winter: Height 13.9 cm / Rautenschild mark with gilt border
Spring: Height 14.9 cm / Rautenschild mark with blue-and-white lozenges and purple border
Summer: Height 15.1 cm / Rautenschild mark with gilt border, incised mark “Z”
Autumn: Height 14.7 cm / Rautenschild mark with purple border
Provenance: Bustelli collection from Bavarian noble ownership
The busts of the Four Seasons are first recorded in the Nymphenburg mould inventory of 1760 as “four busts representing the Four Seasons” (Hofmann III, pp. 396 and 437). In the 1767 price list, they are offered as “Seasons in bust form on pedestals” at a price of 5 florins when “finely painted” (Hofmann III, p. 711).
In the modelling of the Seasons, one is struck by an unusual restraint and clarity for the Rococo period. This deliberate simplicity directs the viewer’s attention to the sculptural quality and silhouette, recalling Italianate antique portrait busts (Rückert, Bustelli, 1963, p. 16).
Comparative examples:
Bavarian National Museum, Munich, Inv. nos. 63/41–63/44 (Bustelli Catalogue, pp. 491 f., fig. p. 331, cat. no. 178).
Emma Budge Collection, Hamburg; Paul Graupe, Berlin, 27–29 September 1937, lot 964, plate 146.
