FOREWORD
The collection of European sculpture represented here, begun in 1984, has just been
installed in galleries built for it in the new J. Paul Getty Museum. Seeing the collection
in this new context is a revelation to visitors; for us, it is a reminder of how much more
has been accomplished in just fourteen years than we had imagined possible. The
curators have assembled a group of sculptures ranging in date from the late fifteenth
to the early twentieth century, with works in various media by many of the greatest
European sculptors: Laurana, Antico, Cellini, Giambologna, Bernini, Clodion,
Canova, and Carpeaux, to list only a few. The collection is especially strong in late
Renaissance and Baroque bronzes, with masterpieces by Schardt, De Vries, Tacca,
and Soldani.
The building of the collection has been the work of Peter Fusco, the Museum's first
curator of sculpture, and two associate curators, Peggy Fogelman and Catherine Hess.
This book is the sixth in a series intended to introduce to the general public the high
points of the Museum's seven curatorial departments. I am grateful to Peter Fusco for
his thoughtful introduction and to Peggy Fogelman and Marietta Cambareri, as well
as to Peter Fusco, for writing entries on individual pieces.
Readers seeking more information about the Getty's European sculpture
should consult two books published by the Museum in 1997: Looking at European
Sculpture: A Guide to Technical Terms by Jane Bassett and Peggy Fogelman, and the
Summary Catalogue of European Sculpture in the J. Paul Getty Museum by Peter Fusco.
A two-volume specialized catalogue of the sculpture collection will appear in the next
few years.
DEBORAH GRIBBON
Associate Director and Chief Curator
FOREWORD 7