Italian, mid 19th century

The esteemed equestrian monument for emperor Marcus Aurelius on the Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome can be traced back to the 10th century. During the middle ages the monumental statue inspired various legends and identifications, including Constantine, Lucius Verus, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and 'il gran Villano' or heroic peasant. The librarian to Pope Sixtus IV, Bartolomeus Platina (1421-1481), was the first to suggest that the figure portrayed Marcus Aurelius, which became widely accepted circa 1600. Admiration for the sculpture is reflected in the many copies and bronze reductions, which were produced throughout the Renaissance, Grand Tour, and later. The present bronze demonstrates sophisticated features, such as the detailed hair curls, well defined hands, and fine veins on the horse's stomach and legs.

Karsten Schubert (1961-2019)

Karsten Schubert was an influential Anglo-German art dealer who played a leading role in promoting the Young British Artists (YBAs) in the 1980s and 1990s. Schubert exhibited the likes of Rachel Whiteread, Alison Wilding, Gary Hume, Michael Landy and Ian Davenport, as well as then more internationally well-known artists such as Gerhard Richter and Bridget Riley. Later in life Schubert founded Ridinghorse a high-end art historical publisher, named after an art space he had opened in 1995 with Charles Asprey and Thomas Dane.

In Schubert’s obituary in The Guardian, Charles Darwent noted that, ‘For all his love of Britain and English tailoring – he became a British citizen not long before his death – he had a depth of culture and historical understanding that remained admirably German…. When he wrote his own history of museology, The Curator’s Egg (2000), it was with the easy assurance of one who could quote Marcus Aurelius from memory’.

Karsten Schubert was a member of the Faculty of the Fine Arts of the British School at Rome, and sat on the Advisory Board of Drawing Room London. His personal art collection including drawings by Cezanne and Mondrian, as well as ancient sculpture. Schubert’s interest in Grand Tour bronzes cast after antique models reflects both his erudition and his rich intellectual heritage.

RELATED LITERATURE

N. Penny, Haskell, Taste and the antique, The Lure of Classical Sculpture 1500-1900, New Haven and London, 1981, pp. 252-255. no. 55