129 - Renaissance-style capital; 19th century.

Renaissance-style capital; 19th century. Carved alabaster. Measurements: 21 x 13 x 13 cm. Provenance: Estate of Ramon Martí Alsina and Ricard Martí Aguiló. Artistic and heritage collection originating in the legacy of Catalan painters Ramon Martí Alsina (1826–1894), a seminal figure of 19th-century Catalan Realism, and his son Ricard Martí Aguiló (1857–1935). Passed down and enriched across successive generations, the collection brings together works from the original holdings of both artists alongside acquisitions made by their descendants. Dedicated to preserving and recovering the family legacy, the descendants actively reacquired works by the painters as they entered the market, progressively expanding the collection to encompass paintings, sculptures, archaeological artifacts, and other items of artistic and historical significance. A capital carved from alabaster, inspired by the classical Corinthian order and reinterpreted in the ornamental style of the Renaissance. It features a meticulous vegetal composition articulated by acanthus leaves with sinuous outlines, whose stems and branches intertwine freely, making room among the volutes for flowers and other phytomorphic motifs. This arrangement enriches the traditional design of the Corinthian capital, lending it greater decorative richness and a more dynamic compositional sense. The ensemble is crowned by a slender, smooth abacus, which is a hallmark of the ornamental profusion of the main body, while the astragal, with its molded profile, marks the transition to the shaft. The delicacy of the alabaster, combined with the meticulous rendering of the reliefs, enhances the elegance of the plant forms and the subtle interplay of light and shadow. The piece reflects the continued influence of classical architectural models throughout the 19th century, within a context of historicist revival of Renaissance artistic styles. Its small size and meticulous craftsmanship allow it to be linked to the tradition of ornamental architectural elements conceived both as decorative models and as collector’s items.