Adriaen de Vries

Adriaen De Vries

The Dutch sculptor Adriaen de Vries created a sequence of masterpieces in the period from 1620 to his death 1626. They each bear full witness to the artist's unique, loose modelling style and his dynamic approach to composition - qualities that placed him well ahead of time. The absolute pinnacle among these later works is the recently discovered Bacchant, which attracted the attention of the world's media in 2014 when the Rijksmuseum acquired it at auction for a record price. This grand finale to De Vries's long and successful career was set in Prague, where, in 1601 - after engagements in Florence, Milan, Turin and Augsburg - he was appointed court sculptor to the art-loving emperor Rudolf II. This magnificent coda played out against the backdrop of a turbulent period in the history of the Bohemian capital marked by war, revolt, regime changes and a turbulent economy. De Vries was...