Sculpture in The Collection of Matthew Rutenberg
The academic schools of 18th and 19h century European art form the core of Matthew Rutenberg’s collection, with a particular focus on the Neoclassical style and its classical austerity and reference to Greek and Roman mythology and historical subjects. The sculpture he collected follows these interests as well, lending dimension to the collection in bronze, terracotta and plaster. Highlights include Ary Jean Léon Bitter’s Young Shepherd Playing Flute for Three Nymphs, busts by Jules Antoine Droz, August Jean Barre, and bronze portrait plaques by Pierre Jean David D’Angers and Christian Danielle Rauch. Rutenberg had a particular interest in historical figures depicted in a Neoclassical style. Examples in the collection include Jean Joseph Perraud’s Mansard in terracptta, a Pieta after James Pradier and Fenelon after Pierre Jean David D’Angers, both in bronze. Rounding out the selection of sculptural works in the collection is a pair of bronze silhouettes, a copper roundel depicting the Marriage of Eleazar, and a pair of handsome bronze mortars.