JOAQUIM MACHADO DE CASTRO - 1731-1822 Model for the pedestrian statue of King D. José I of Portugal (1714-1777) clay sculpture remade arm with ceptre missing, small restoration, minor faults Dimensões (altura x comprimento x largura) - 40 cm Notes: vd. https://acervo.museudelisboa.pt/ficha.aspx?id=11527&ns=216000&Lang=PO&museu=2&IPR=5499 consultado a 15/07/2025 às 16:43.

The gold-patterned wax model for a pedestrian statue of King D. José I, belonging to the collection of the Lisbon Museum (MC.ESC.0288), now acquires a new interpretation with the emergence of a clay model of the same size, practically identical, by Joaquim Machado de Castro. Just like the patinated wax model of the equestrian statue, from a private collection and presented in 2012 in the exhibition “O Virtuoso Criador. Joaquim Machado de Castro (1731-1822)”, at the National Museum of Ancient Art, this clay example may also correspond to an initial phase in the conception of a statue intended for public space.

With the emergence of this clay model, the wax version came to be understood as the starting point for a sculptural project for a pedestrian statue of King D. José I, possibly intended for a public square, similar to the famous equestrian statue. The clay model corresponds to the first stage of the sculpture's execution process. The figure of the king appears idealized as a Roman hero, wearing breastplate with hanging leather straps, and using greaves in the manner of Roman soldiers. However, the laurel wreath on his head, the cloak, fastened and arranged in a toga-like drape, eliminated any ambiguity, underlining the royal dignity and the high status of the represented figure. Furthermore, the figure has his left hand resting on his hip, while his right hand, which should firmly hold the scepter, resting obliquely on the same hip, shows a restoration that altered the arm's position. At his feet, slightly set back behind his right foot, is the helmet adorned with plumes, placed in a way that reinforces the heroic and classical interpretation of the composition.

The proposed date for the creation of the gold-patinated wax model was between 1772 and 1777. This is the most chronologically accurate range, but now that we know the wax model was part of a project to create a royal statue, it seems more plausible that after the equestrian statue, there was a desire for another statue of the king for Lisbon's second square, Rossio (at a time when it did not yet have the statues and fountains it would receive in the 19th century), and therefore work began in 1775. The king's death two years later would explain why the statue was never completed, since it is now certain that work had begun.