European Sculpture in the Collection of His Majesty The King
Jonathan Marsden
Publication Date:
Autumn 2025
Sculpture is the last major field of European art in the Royal Collection yet to have been published. The product of twenty-five years of work by a leading scholar in the field, this four-volume publication marks the completion of one of the most ambitious stages in the long-term task of cataloguing the Collection, bringing full descriptions and illustrations of some 1,800 works of art into print for the first time.
The scope of the catalogue – covering sculpture in all materials from the fifteenth to the late twentieth century – is unprecedented. Incorporating countless new attributions and identifications and the results of conservation and scientific examination, the catalogue will be an indispensable work of reference for all students of post-medieval sculpture, impressive not only in the quality of its scholarship but also for the extent and depth of the documentation. Highlights include an exceptional group of bronze busts from the Italian and Northern Renaissance, the first bronze casts of ancient sculpture to be made in Britain, the best ensemble of French seventeenth– and eighteenth-century bronzes outside France, unrivalled examples of English portrait sculpture from the seventeenth century onwards and the most complete surviving collection of Victorian sculpture.
With an introductory survey covering the relationships between British monarchs and sculptors since the seventeenth century and the impact of sculpture in the interiors of the royal palaces over the same period, the admirably clear and engaging text is essential reading for students of royal collecting. It is accompanied by almost 2,000 illustrations, most of which have been commissioned for this book.
Published in association with Royal Collection Trust.
Jonathan Marsden was Director of the Royal Collection and Surveyor of The Queen’s Works of Art from 2010 to 2017, having served as Deputy Surveyor from 1996. Prior to this, he worked for the National Trust as a Historic Buildings Representative in North Wales and Oxfordshire.