Analysis of the sculptural work of Floris de Vriendt Cornelis II “Portrait of the Duchess Dorothea of Prussia”

The bust of the Duchess Dorothea of Prussia is a round sculpture made of alabaster. Technique - carving. A characteristic feature of medieval alabaster, expressively emphasizing the plot component of this type of late Renaissance portrait, is the ability to polish the material like marble, while creating special positions for shadow and light, brilliance and transparency. The softness of the transitions is achieved by the absence of sharp reflections. The shadow is gentle in itself, it completely coincides with the shape and plasticity of the face, giving picturesqueness to this work.

Sculpture and relief from alabaster are rarely polychrome, with the exception of a few examples where the use of a specific color or coloring determines the ideological beginning of the sculpture. In the context of this work, it is worth noting that the material and its color emphasize the softness of the master's plastic style, where the duchess's spiritual tension is determined by the psychological expressiveness of her face, individual facial expressions. The specific expression is complemented by a painful skin tone: at this stage, the development of the main idea of this composition is traced, where the bust of the praying duchess becomes a single whole of the tomb composition.

Analyzing the sculpture as an independent work, the principle of strict frontality does not restrict us from the opportunity to consider and understand the sculpture from different points of view, where the idea of the victory of emotions over movement is best played out. The expressiveness of the Duchess's eyes comes to the fore, static and passivity do not occupy such an important position in the space of this work. The sculptor did not initially set a separate theme, it arises in the process of influencing the viewer through a series of associations. Within the framework of this portrait, first of all, a strong expression in facial features works, the heroine's face seems to speak to us. After this feeling develops into sympathy on the part of the viewer. It is with the help of such an individual spiritual movement that the master realizes the main thesis of this work, where the sculpture directly works with the dynamics of the world around him.