Baron Philipp von Stosch

The Prussian baron Philipp von Stosch, portrayed here in the guise of a Roman emperor, was a scholar, art collector, and diplomat and one of the most versatile and dazzling personalities of the eighteenth century. His famous collection of gems, running to over 3,000 items, was catalogued after his death by Johann Joachim Winckelmann and acquired in 1764 by Prussia’s King Frederick the Great. Part of the collection is held by the Berlin Museums to this day. This bust by Edme Bouchardon was made during Stosch’s second stay in Rome (1722–1731). Doubtless it was the baron himself who decided to be portrayed with short hair and bare chest, clad all’antica in only a general’s cloak (paludamentum) over his left shoulder. With its numerous allusions to the ancient world, this portrait of Baron von Stosch can be described as the earliest neo-classical bust.