Tomasso Brothers | Tomasso XXV: A Celebration of Notable Sales by Masterart

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TOMASSO BROTHERS FINE ART

2018

TOMASSO BROTHERS FINE ART Bardon Hall, Weetwood Lane, Leeds, ls16 8hj, UK tel. + 44 (0) 113 275 5545 and Marquis House, 67 Jermyn Street, London, sw1y 6ny, UK tel. + 44 (0) 20 7839 9394

Edited by Emanuela Tarizzo, Elliot Davies and Alexandra Popa Photography by Doug Currie except a s below No. 12: Museum Kunstpalast - Horst Kolberg - ARTOTHEK No. 15: Collezioni d’Arte e di Storia della Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna No. 21: Maggie Nimkin, New York, USA No. 27: 2013 Christie’s Images Limited No. 33: Arthur Evans, Williamstown, Maryland, USA

Design by Laura Parker Produced by Paul Holberton Publishing 89 Borough High Street London se1 1nl isbn 978 1 911300 50 2

www.tomassobrothers.co.uk in fo @tomassobrothers.co.uk

For D & D

Dear Friends,

affaello and I have great pleasure in publishing this catalogue, which presents a selection of some of our favourites among the works of art we have had the privilege of handling over the past quarter of a century. The early years of Tomasso Brothers were a time of learning. Our repeated visits to museums, British and European dealers and auction house taught us to appreciate many different types of works of art – from antiquities to modern paintings. There were three of us involved in the business then, which included our brother, Giovanni, with whom we worked closely, day and night. Giovanni was an integral part of our development, and we should pay tribute to the role he played in the formative years of our business.During this time together, we were fortunate, through study, endless travel and just plain hard work, to unearth any number of exciting objects, which we then passed on, quite happily, to other, more established dealers. This was our learning process. In 2008 we decided to hold our first catalogued exhibition in New York, presenting forty-four pieces of sculpture, which included works in bronze, marble, terracotta and carved wood. Such works have remained our principal areas of interest, and we have continued to exhibit internationally over the course of the last ten years. We have cultivated fruitful relationships with private collectors, the museum community, and many specialist academics, to whom we have been so often indebted. Such relationships have been of critical importance to our business and will continue to be, as we look to the future. The success of Tomasso Brothers Fine Art depends particularly upon the commitment of a great team at home. Raffaello and I would like to thank all those who have been of such enormous support over many years, including Kelli, Emanuela, Elliot, Robert, Tani, Alexandra, Sophie and Marek. Very special thanks must also go to our publishers, Paul Holberton and Laura Parker, and to our photographer, the eminently capable and patient Doug Currie. We owe a particular debt of gratitude to Dr Charles Avery, his interest, guidance and scholarship and for his boundless enthusiasm for sculpture – a source of inspiration to us both. Charles has contributed essays to our numerous publications, particularly with regards to Giambologna and his circle, which have been both fascinating and authoritative. Our proudest achievement is to have been associated with so many of the world’s finest collections, both private and public. Consequently, we would like to offer our sincerest thanks to all our clients for their continuing support and trust. din o an d r affa e l lo

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list of works 1. jo h n mic h ael ry sbr ack Bust of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (1650–1722), c.1722–48

14 . l e on h a r d ke r n Kneeling Youth with Bound Hands 2nd quarter of the 17th century

2 . giovanni gi rolamo s avoldo The Death of Saint Peter Martyr, c.1530–35

15. ba rtolome o pa s s e rott i Allegorical Portrait of Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522–1605), c.1575

3 . h ubert gerhar d Mounted River God, from a Fountain, 1580s

16 . bacci o ba n d i n e l l i Bust of a Young Man, c.1540

4. grinling gi bbon s A High Relief of King David and Saint Cecilia performing a Four-part ‘Motet’ by Roland Lassus, c.1668–70

17. pa d ua , c. 15 2 0 –2 5 Pacing Bull from the Rape of Europa Group

5. jo h n c h eere Samson Slaying a Philistine, mid 18th century

18 . j os e ph n ol l e ke n s A ‘Pensiero’ of Eve Bewailing the Death of Abel

6 . leonh ard ker n Gymnast Throwing a Sphere (‘The Bowler’), 2nd quarter of the 17th century

19. roma n, 1st – 2 n d ce n t ury a d Marble Torso of a Satyr (possibly Ampelos)

7. antonio susin i Crouching Bather, late 16th–early 17th century 8 . jo seph c laus Bust of The Emperor Caracalla, 1757

2 0 . j e a n - t i e n n e l i ota r d A Pair of Portrait Miniatures of Prince Charles Edward Stuart (1720–1788) and Prince Henry Benedict Stuart (1725–1807) 21. g i a m b olo g na Mars, c.1580

9. w illiam etty, r. a. Preparing for a Fancy Dress Ball (Charlotte and Mary Williams-Wynn), 1833

2 2 . cav. ci n ci n nato ba ruzzi Baccante Cimbalista, 1837

10. w ilh elm de g roff Bust of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (1662–1726)

2 3 . j oh n bacon t h e e l d e r A Female Centaur with a Bacchante & A Male Centaur with a Bacchante, c.1770

11. ric h ard james wyatt Nymph Entering the Bath

2 4 . s i r a n t h on y va n dyck Profile Head Study for The Raising of the Cross, 1631

12 . f ried ric h wilhelm s chadow Double Portrait of The Princes Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig of Prussia (1794–1863) and Wilhelm of Solms-Braunfels (1801–1868) in Cuirassier’s Uniform, 1830

2 5. f r a n ce s co da s a n ga l lo A Pair of Allegorical Figures, possibly representing Oratoria and Grammatica

1 3. w illiam t heed the elder Thetis Transporting Arms for Achilles, c.1804–12

2 6 . j os e ph ch i na r d Bust of a Gentleman, probably Nicolas Thérèse Benoît Frochot, 1806

27. roman, late 16th cen tu ry An Important Italian Pietra Dura and Specimen Marble Tabletop 28 . g iambolo g na Pacing Horse 2 9. fr an ces co di virg ilio fane l l i Daniel in the Lions’ Den 30 . fr an ois g ir ar don Bust of Modios Asiatikos 31. antonio di pietro averlino, called filarete The Triumph of Caesar over King Juba, c.1433 32. roman, 2 n d cen tury ad Head of Dionysus 33. jacob hoefnag el The Triumph of Autumn 34. g iambolo g na Julius Caesar, c.1551 35. g r eg or io di loren zo A Pair of Portrait Reliefs of Julius Caesar and Galba, 2nd half of the 15th century 36 . an ton io s usin i The Rape of a Sabine 37. cav. emanuele caron i L’Amour vainqueur de la Force, c.1867 38 . , c. King Louis XII of France 39. p ietro cip rian i (c.1679–1745) A Pair of Busts of Geta and Plautilla, c.1722 40 . jean -an toin e hou don Bust of Christine Boyer (1771–1800), c.1800–03 41 . g iambolo g na Venus Urania, or Allegory of Astronomy, c.1585–95

4 2 . j os e ph ch i na r d Bust of a Young Lady, perhaps Mlle de Civrieux, c.1804 4 3 . f r a n oi s g i r a r d on The Abduction of Proserpina 4 4 . a n ton i o s us i n i The Fowler 4 5. rom a n, 1st ce n t ury a d Standing Aphrodite, fragment 4 6 . g i a n f r a n ce s co s us i ni Pacing Bull 4 7. claud e mi ch e l , kn ow n a s c lo d i on Petit Lion, late 18th century 4 8 . h a n s r e i ch l e Christ at the Column 4 9. rome, 17 t h ce n t ury An Important Pair of Polychrome Marble Busts of Horace and Cicero 5 0 . a n ton i o s us i n i Hercules Slaying a Centaur, c.1600–10 5 1. j oh a n tob i a s s e rg e l A Nymph and a Satyr Crowned by Cupid, c.1770–80 5 2 . g i a n f r a n ce s co s us i ni The Borghese Satyr 5 3 . roma n, c.5 0 –15 0 a d Bacchus and a Satyr 5 4 . g i us e p pe p i a m on t i n i Milo of Croton 5 5. j os e ph h a l l A Likeness of the Celebrated Greyhound ‘Squib’, 1834

1 j o h n m i c hael rys br ac k (1694–1770)

Bust of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (1650–1722), c.1722–48 White marble, on a white marble socle 63 cm (24¾ in.) high 93 cm (36½ in.) high overall provenance Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset (1662–1748), Northumberland House, London thence by descent to George Percy, 5th Duke of Northumberland (1778–1867), Syon House, Middlesex thence by descent exhibited The Royal Academy of Arts, London, English Taste in the 18th Century from Baroque to Neo-Classic, 1955–56, no. 37 liter atur e Inventory of Charles Duke of Somerset’s Goods at Northumberland House, 23 March 1748/49 (The Archives of the Duke of Northumberland at Alnwick Castle Sy.H.IV.1.c); Inventory of Northumberland House, 1786 (Alnwick Sy.H.VI.2.d); M. I. Webb, Michael Rysbrack, London, 1954, p. 94 and 95; English Taste in the 18th century from Baroque to Neo-Classic, exh. cat. Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1955, p. 33, no. 37; N. Penny, Catalogue of European Sculpture in the Ashmolean Museum 1540 to the Present Day, vol. iii, Oxford, 1992, p. 155, no. 566; I. Roscoe, ‘A Biographical Dictionary of Sculptors in Britain 1660–1851’, New Haven and London, 2009, p.1085, no.151.; J. Kenworthy-Browne, ‘Portrait Busts by Rysbrack’, National Trust Studies 1980 (1979), p. 67; ‘Recent Acquisitions. A Selection: 2014–2016’, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, vol. 74, no. 2, New York, Fall 2016

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

This bust of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and British military hero, was carved by John Michael Rysbrack, one of the most celebrated sculptors of the eighteenth century. The 1st Duke rose to fame and prominence during the reign of Queen Anne, when, as Commander of the Allied forces, he achieved a great military victory against the French at the Battle of Blenheim on 13 August 1704, during the War of the Spanish Succession. In gratitude Queen Anne built Churchill the magnificent Palace of Blenheim, in Oxfordshire. The present bust, a true masterpiece of English Baroque sculpture, depicts the Duke as a victorious Roman general dressed all’antica, wearing a toga and crowned with a laurel wreath. The work was created before 1730 and has an unbroken provenance stretching back to at least 1748, when it is recorded at Northumberland House in the possession of Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, one of Marlborough’s political allies. From there it went to Syon House, Middlesex, where it was rediscovered.

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2 g i ova n n i g i rolamo s avold o (c.1480–c.1548)

The Death of Saint Peter Martyr, c.1530–35 Oil on canvas 115.3 cm (45½ in.) high 141 cm (55½ in.) wide ins cr ib ed CR (for ‘Credo in Dio’; lower left) provenance Possibly John Talbot (died 1852), 16th Earl of Shrewsbury, Alton Towers, Staffordshire, by 1835; possibly by descent in the Talbot family, with a member of the family giving it to St. Alban’s Roman Catholic Church, Macclesfield, Cheshire; St Alban’s Roman Catholic Church, Macclesfield, Cheshire, probably by 1900, but certainly by 1930 liter atur e ‘A selection of 2001 museum acquisitions’, Apollo, December 2001, p. 31; David Masello, ‘Saint and Sinner’ from ‘100 Top Treasures’, Art and Antiques, November 2002, p. 70; ‘New Acquisition’, Art Institute of Chicago News and Events, January/February 2002, p. 5; Creighton E. Gilbert, ‘Savoldo’s Death of Peter Martyr’, Arte Documento, vols. 17–19, 2003, pp. 290–93; Larry J. Feinberg, ‘Notable Acquisitions at the Art Institute of Chicago’, Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 30, 1, 2004, pp. 54–55; Vittorio Sgarbi and Mauro Lucco, Natura e maniera tra Tiziano e Caravaggio: le ceneri violette di Giorgione, exh. cat. (Milan: Skira, 2004), pp. 152–53, under cat. no. 29

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, USA

Born in Brescia, Savoldo spent the majority of his life in Venice, where he had settled around 1520, at a time when the enigmatic legacy of Giorgione and the meteoric rise of Titian reverberated through the city. From the latter Savoldo derived the hushed brilliance of his palette, his saturated colours and his technique of applying paint glazes, whilst the atmospheric quality of his landscapes and meditative mood of his portraits certainly looked in the direction of Giorgione. Equally significant to our artist were the empiricist lesson of Leonardo and his followers in Lombardy, and the detailed narrative quality of Northern European paintings. The Death of Saint Peter Martyr was executed within a few years of Titian’s now lost altarpiece (completed in 1530) of the same subject, portraying the murder of the Dominican friar and his companion at the hands of heretics in 1252. Differently from Titian, Savoldo chose a much more closely cropped representation of the scene, where the expressions on the faces of the martyr and his slayer take centre stage, but notably show greater restraint than Titian’s turbulent characters. The beautifully captured representation of movement, the luminous palette and open gesture of St Peter’s raised left hand contrast with the darkened sleeve and clenched fist of the assassin’s right arm, about to strike the fatal blow.

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3 h u b ert ger har d (c.1550–1620)

Mounted River God, from a Fountain, 1580s Bronze 34.3 cm (13½ in.) high, 52 cm (20½ in.) wide prove nance Lady Kenmare; Villa La Fiorentina, Cap Ferrat, France, by descent to her son M. Cameron

Liechtenstein, The Princely Collections, Vaduz-Vienna

This rediscovered master-bronze of a river god is one of the most outstanding early works by Hubert Gerhard. The work finds close comparisons with his Vienna Mars and Venus group, with the Prophets of the Fugger Altar as well as with the four River Gods of the Wittelsbach Fountain and the male river personification of the Augustus Fountain. Gerhard’s initial training took place in Flanders but there is evidence that he became attached to the Medici court in Florence in 1581. Together with Adriaen de Vries, he was one of the younger sculptors who trained in Florence under Giambologna and from him acquired the mastery of monumental and small-scale bronze sculpture.

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4 g r i n ling gibbons (1648–1721)

A High Relief of King David and Saint Cecilia performing a Four-part ‘Motet’ by Roland Lassus, c.1668–70 After a painting by Peter de Witte (1548–1628), with coat of arms of the Barwick family Boxwood 35.5 cm (14 in.) high 22.5 (8¾ in.) wide sig ne d GG (on the organ played by St Cecilia) prove nance Probably commissioned by Sir Robert Barwick of Toulston, Recorder of York P.B. Mayer collection, Sotheby’s, London, 25 November 1963, lot 102 W.R. Rees-Davies collection, Sotheby’s, London, 9 April 1973, lot 131 The Cyril Humphris collection, Sotheby’s, New York, 10 January 1995, lot 65 A. Alfred Taubman collection, USA e xhib ite d Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Grinling Gibbons and the Art of Carving, 1998–99 l ite r ature D. Esterly, Grinling Gibbons and the Art of Carving, London, 1998, pp. 41–51, illus. p. 43, fig. 23; ‘Grinling Gibbons: Aspects of His Style and Technique’, The Magazine Antiques, October 1998, pp. 494–500; L. Sayce and D. Esterly, ‘’He was likewise musical ...’. An unexpected aspect of Grinling Gibbons’, Apollo, June 2000, pp. 11–21, fig. 1

Fairfax House Museum, York, United Kingdom

This high-relief, boxwood panel is a magnificent demonstration of sculptural bravura on a reduced scale, and represents one of the earliest known works by Grinling Gibbons, who is generally considered to be Britain’s greatest woodcarver. As attested by the cartouche belonging to Yorkshire’s Barwick family, which subtly appears on the harp in the foreground, the panel was likely carved in York, where Gibbons trained under John Etty after arriving from Rotterdam around 1667. The scene depicts King David, St Cecilia and heavenly musicians playing a four-part ‘motet’ by Roland Lassus (Orlando di Lasso, c.1530–1594), which can be identified by legible manuscripts minutely reproduced in the work by Gibbons. The panel is after a painting by Peter de Witte, known as Candido (1548– 1628), probably commissioned by Duke William V, or his court, in Munich before 1593.

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5 j o h n c heer e (1709–1787)

Samson Slaying a Philistine, mid 18th century After a model by Giambologna (1529–1608) Lead 203 cm (80 in.) high

Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, USA

The present sculpture is the only historically authentic cast of a large-scale model by Giambologna to appear on the market in living memory. Its importance is all the greater since it preserves many of the surface details that are now lost in the famous marble sculpture that was commissioned by Grand Duke Francesco de’ Medici and is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Moreover, John Cheere’s cast of Samson Slaying a Philistine is also a key monument in the history of taste and of garden design, as it represents the vogue for lead statuary in English gardens of the late seventeenth to mid eighteenth centuries. Lead casts of Giambologna’s sculptures were especially prized by aristocratic English patrons, and John Cheere was the most famous maker of such works in the mid eighteenth century.

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6 leonhar d k er n (1588–1662)

Gymnast Throwing a Sphere (‘The Bowler’), 2nd quarter of the 17th century Fruitwood, possibly pear 30.2 cm (12 in.) high - overall 13.5 cm (5¼ in.) wide 24 cm (9½ in.) length prove nance Private collection, Wales l ite r ature E.D. Schmidt et al., Bronze, Boxwood, and Ivory in the Robert H. Smith Collection of Renaissance Sculpture (a second supplement to the catalogue volume Art of the Renaissance Bronze (1500–1650), 2015, pp. 44–47; Bronze and Boxwood, Renaissance Masterpieces from the Robert H. Smith: A Gift to the Nation, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2008

The Robert H. Smith, Collection, Arlington, Virginia, USA

Leonhard Kern was widely admired for his study of figures from life, a practice that was still uncommon in Germany when he brought it back across the Alps from Rome. The subject, striding forward to throw a sphere ‘underarm’, may allude to the episode from classical mythology in which Hippomenes threw down a golden apple for Atalanta to fetch, but in any case almost certainly reflects a burgeoning interest in ancient sports, which surged in Italy after Girolamo Mercuriale (1530–1606), personal physician to Grand Duke Ferdinando de’ Medici, published his treatise entitled De arte gymnastica in Venice in 1569. Another source of inspiration for Kern may have been the discovery of the muscular and athletic Borghese Gladiator around 1610 – during his Italian journey (1609–14) – which possibly triggered a wave of interest among artists depicting the human body in action.

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7 a n tonio s u s ini (1558–1624)

Crouching Bather, late 16th–early 17th century After a model by Giambologna (1529–1608) Bronze 24.9 cm (9¾ in.) high prove nance Private collection, United Kingdom l ite r ature A. Radcliffe and N. Penny, Art of the Renaissance Bronze 1500–1650: The Robert H. Smith Collection, London, 2004, no. 31, pp. 188–90

The Robert H. Smith Collection, Arlington, Virginia, USA

This bronze Crouching Bather was very finely cast, in one piece, by Giambologna’s principal assistant, Antonio Susini. As is the case with Susini’s greatest bronzes, it has extremely thin walls and the surface displays delicate, brush-like filing, in the direction of the contours of the musculature, revealing the golden alloy of the bronze and traces of the original red translucent lacquer. It is most similar in modelling and quality of facture to the Crouching Bather in the Holburne of Menstrie Museum, University of Bath, which was also cast by Antonio Susini. Giambologna’s original model of a Crouching Bather was inspired by ancient prototypes of the Crouching Venus, as seen in the antiquities collections of the Uffizi, the British Museum and the Museo Nazionale in Naples. Giambologna primarily deviated from the ancient form by raising the figure’s left arm to intensify the spiralling nature of the pose. This reflects his concern during the mid 1560s for representing figures who were absorbed in their own activities and arranged in complex positions.

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8 j o s eph c lau s (1718–1788)

Bust of The Emperor Caracalla, 1757 Of the Farnese type White marble 71.5 cm (28 in.) high sig ne d and dated Josephus Claus fecit 1757 IC prove nance The Hon. Stephen Tennant, Wilsford Manor, Wiltshire, United Kingdom

Saint Louis Art Museum, USA

Joseph Claus’s bust of Caracalla is a milestone in the development of early Neoclassicism in Rome, a signature work by one of the most accomplished German sculptors of the eighteenth century and a highly original and successful interpretation of one of the most venerated and influential ancient portraits. Claus was at the forefront of the earliest generation of Neoclassical sculptors. Among German sculptors, he was the first artist to adopt the classical ideal and idiom. He played an important part in English art history, having several important patrons, and also of Italian art history, for he settled in Rome as a young man and was active there until his death. The finely nuanced and delicate rendering of the most minute details of the present bust, such as the crisp texture of the sitter’s hair and the smooth surfaces of his cloak with its deep undercutting, represents a visual counterpoint to the diametrically opposed brute force, expressive power, emotional rage and mental determination of the Emperor, which creates a wonderful artistic tension within the work.

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9 w i lliam etty, r .a. (1787–1849)

Preparing for a Fancy Dress Ball (Charlotte and Mary Williams-Wynn), 1833 Oil on canvas 173 cm (68 in.) high 150 cm (59 in.) wide provenance Commissioned by Hon. Charles Watkin Williams-Wynn, MP l ite r ature S. Burnage, M. Hallett and L. Turner (eds.), William Etty Art and Controversy, York, 2011, no. 91, pp. 238–39

York Art Gallery, York, United Kingdom

Undoubtedly one of William Etty’s finest portraits, Preparing for a Fancy Dress Ball depicts the society sisters Charlotte and Mary Williams-Wynn, dressed in luxurious swathes of embroidered silk and satin costumes, whilst they add the finishing touches to each other’s outfits, in the form of a lilac ribbon and a yellow rose. The painting was commissioned from Etty in 1833 by their father, the Hon. Charles Watkin WilliamsWynn MP, and deftly captures the vogue for such fancy dress balls in the 1830s. In the creation of this work, Etty also draws upon the established Old Master trope of the young woman as Venus, pictured in privacy by the likes of Titian and Velázquez. It was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1835, where Etty’s choice of ‘graceful attitudes and tasteful costumes’ and the ‘pleased and intelligent countenances of the girls’ received great praise.

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10 w i l h e lm d e grof f (1676–1742)

Bust of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (1662–1726) Bronze 117 cm (46 in.) high, including socle 87 cm (34¼ in.) high, excluding socle

Liechtenstein, The Princely Collections, Vaduz-Vienna

This majestic portrait of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, is an impressive tour de force of modelling and bronze casting. The ruler, gazing proudly into the distance, turns to one side, as a billowing mantle swirls across his torso and the chain of the prestigious Order of the Golden Fleece emerges from underneath a richly embroidered cravat. A powerful statesman and military commander, Maximilian was also a keen patron of the arts. In 1714 he appointed the Flemish artist Wilhelm de Groff – who had served under Louis XIV in Paris since 1708 – as his court sculptor in Munich, providing him with a large workshop and foundry. One of the great pioneers of the Rococo style in Munich, de Groff executed both sculptures in the round and decorative fittings, as are visible today in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum. This monumental likeness, which beautifully captures the character of de Groff ’s patron, is a unique cast.

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11 r i c h a rd james wyatt (1795–1850)

Nymph Entering the Bath White marble 152.5 cm (60 in.) high 50 cm (19¾ in.) wide 60 cm (23½ in.) deep sig ne d R.J. WYATT. Fecit/ROMA (on the base) prove nance Aladar Zellinger de Balkany (1900–1983) by descent to Robert de Balkany

Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, USA

Described as ‘an excellent judge of art’ and ‘clever in composition and the harmony of lines’ by fellow artist and friend John Gibson, Richard James Wyatt was one of the foremost British sculptors to have worked in Antonio Canova’s workshop in Rome. Following the master’s death in 1822, he and Gibson temporarily entered Bertel Thorvaldsen’s studio, but soon decided to set up independently in studios opposite one another on via della Fontanella Barberini in Rome. There Wyatt received his first commission of note, from the Duke of Devonshire for his grand country house at Chatsworth, in which the sculpture gallery represents to this day a highpoint of Neoclassicism. A true virtuoso carver, Wyatt was principally known for his statues of female figures, such as the present Nymph Entering the Bath. The young girl’s supple skin is beautifully rendered through the marble’s lustrous surface, whilst details such as her knuckles and the folds of her drapery are picked out by Wyatt’s chisel with remarkable bravura. His figures often appear caught in moments of reflection or hesitation, their gestures betraying their thoughts. Thus our nymph’s foot, gently dipping in the water, and her hand holding on to the otherwise discarded robe anticipate her actions and add to the psychological and anatomical realism of the scene.

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12 fr i e dr i c h w ilhelm s c had ow (1788–1862)

Double Portrait of The Princes Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig of Prussia (1794–1863) and Wilhelm of Solms-Braunfels (1801–1868) in Cuirassier’s Uniform, 1830 Oil on canvas 134 cm (52¾ in.) diameter provenance Commissioned by Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig of Prussia (1794–1863) for his mother Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1778–1841), Princess of Prussia, Princess of Solms-Braunfels, Duchess of Cumberland and Queen of Hanover, London, United Kingdom, c.1830 by descent to Augusta of Hesse-Cassel (1822–1916), Duchess of Cambridge and Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Light Blue Salon in the Hanoverian Palace on Leinstraße 29, Hanover, Germany, before 1845 by descent to Ernst-August (b. 1954), Prince of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg, Hanover and Marienburg Castle, Nordstemmen, until 2005 liter atur e Arbeitskreis Kultur Düsseldorf, 2011, vol. 2, p. 44; C. Grewe, ‘Portrait of the Artist as an Arabesque: Romantic Form and Social Practice in Wilhelm von Schadow’s The Modern Vasari’, Intellectual History Review, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 99–134, at p. 127, fig. 15

Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, Germany

The son of the sculptor and academician Johann Gottfried Schadow, Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow became one of the most distinguished German painters of his generation. After studying under his father and in Rome, in 1819 Schadow was appointed Professor at the Berlin Academy of Art, and in 1826 he became Director of the Academy of Art in Düsseldorf, where the present portrait was painted. Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig of Prussia, who commissioned the work and is represented side by side with his half-brother Prince Wilhelm of Solms-Braunfels, resided from 1821 to 1848 at Schloss Jägerhof in Düsseldorf and actively participated to the city’s cultural life, emerging as a major collector and patron of the arts. The double portrait was a gift to the princes’ mother, Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and emphasizes, in composition as well as format, the strong alliance and friendship between the siblings. In addition, the detailed depiction of the two men’s uniforms and medals underlines their roles as military men and defenders of the Prussian state. Characteristic of Schadow and beautifully preserved here are the meticulous attention to surface texture and the luminous quality of the palette, which allows the two princes to stand out against the Romantic Rhineland background.

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13 w i l li a m t heed the eld er (1764–1817)

Thetis Transporting Arms for Achilles, c.1804–12 Bronze 128 cm (50⅜ in.) high 143 cm (56 5/16 in.) wide 120 cm (47¼ in.) deep provenance possibly Thomas Hope at Duchess Street, London, or Deepdene, Surrey possibly by descent to Lord Francis Pelham-Clinton-Hope possibly purchased by Colonel Edward Brotherton Private collection, England, country house in the North of England (until mid 1950s) sold to the father of Miss L. Cameron (mid 1950s) Miss L. Cameron, Husthwaite, North Yorkshire liter atur e ‘Recent Acquisitions. A Selection: 2012–2014’, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, vol. 72, no. 2, New York, Fall 2014

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

This bronze, by the Neoclassical sculptor William Theed, the Elder (1764–1817), represents Thetis crossing the sea on a large scallop shell pulled by a Triton. She is travelling to deliver the sword, helmet and cuirass made by Hephaestus (Vulcan) for her son, Achilles, who is about to lay siege to Troy. The figure of Thetis cuts a tragic figure of maternal worry and despair, crouched down with a hand on her forehead, as if mourning the forthcoming loss of her son, who she knows to be mortal. A model for the present work was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1805 and the subject perhaps had a symbolic resonance in Britain at this time, for it was the year in which Horatio Nelson gave his life in Britain’s battle against Napoleon Bonaparte and the French at the Battle of Trafalgar.

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14 leonhar d k er n (1588–1662)

Kneeling Youth with Bound Hands, 2nd quarter of the 17th century Fruitwood (possibly pear) 24.5 cm (9¾ in.) high, 27.5 cm (10¾ in.) overall prove nance Private collection, England liter atur e E.D. Schmidt et al., Bronze, Boxwood, and Ivory in the Robert H. Smith Collection of Renaissance Sculpture (A second supplement to the catalogue volume Art of the Renaissance Bronze 1500–1650), 2015, pp. 42–48; Bronze and Boxwood, Renaissance Masterpieces from the Robert H. Smith, A Gift to the Nation, National Gallery of Art, 2008

The Robert H. Smith Collection, Arlington, Virginia, USA

Leonhard Kern was one of the most important and innovative German sculptors of the seventeenth century. His works were primarily made from boxwood, fruitwood and ivory and his subjects included both religious and secular themes, many being inspired by humanist thought and Graeco-Roman antiquity. This tense and emotional sculpture depicts a nude youth kneeling with hands tied together behind his back. The identity of the youth is perhaps Isaac, who was bound by his father while he attempted to carry out God’s wish that he should execute his eldest son. Another theory is that the boy represents a captive in the iconographic tradition of Michelangelo’s prigionieri for the tomb of Pope Julius II, which were installed in the Boboli Garden’s Grotta Grande between 1583 and 1593; or perhaps the four Captives with hands tied behind their backs from the socle of the equestrian monument of Henri IV by Francesco Francavilla; or again the four Slaves by Pietro Tacca on the socle of Giovanni Bandini’s statue of Ferdinando de’ Medici in Livorno (1622–26).

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15 ba rto lomeo pas s erotti (1529–1592)

Allegorical Portrait of Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522–1605), c.1575 Oil on canvas 127.5 cm (50¼ in.) high 98.5 cm (38¾ in.) wide e xhib ite d Il viaggio tra mito e scienza, Palazzo Poggi, Bologna, 24 February–3 June 2007 Nove stanze, nove secoli, Palazzo Saraceni, Bologna, 7 December 2010–16 January 2011 Da Cimabue a Morandi. Felsina Pittrice, Palazzo Fava, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Bologna, 14 February–30 August 2015 Alessandro Tassoni, spirito bisquadro, Palazzo dei Musei, Modena, 12 December 2015–17 April 2016 liter atur e A. Ghirardi, ‘Passerotti, Aldrovandi e un ritratto’, in Arti a confronto. Studi in onore di Anna Maria Matteucci, D.Lenzi ed., Bologna, 2004, pp. 151–54; A. Ghirardi in lI viaggio tra mito e scienza, exh. cat., Bologna, 2007, pp. 182–83; B. Buscaroli ed., Nove stanze, nove secoli, exh. cat., Bologna 2010; A. Ghirardi in Antico e Moderno, Acquisizioni e donazioni per la storia di Bologna, Bologna, 2014, pp. 56–57; A. Ghirardi in Da Cimabue a Morandi, Felsina Pittrice, exh. cat., Bologna, 2015, pp. 138–39; G. Biondi and C. Stefani eds., Alessandro Tassoni, Spirito bisquadro, Modena, 2015, p. 194

Collezioni d’Arte e di Storia della Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Bologna, Italy

The Renaissance’s most influential naturalist, Ulisse Aldrovandi was also a cosmologist and eminent physician. Throughout his long career, he enjoyed the patronage of two popes, but also encountered fierce opposition, most notably from the College of Medicine in Bologna. To this day, he is celebrated for his systematic approach to the observation and study of natural phenomena. At the time when this portrait was painted, Aldrovandi was an esteemed professor at the University of Bologna, where he had inaugurated the first chair of Natural History and founded the Botanical Garden that exist to this day. Bartolomeo Passerotti, the artist, was a near contemporary of the sitter and also a member of Bologna’s erudite circles, who opened a museum of his collection of antiquities, where he welcomed many illustrious visitors. Standing to the right of the composition, Aldrovandi looks at the bejewelled figure of a woman, who holds three beautifully described jars. Behind her, and key to the allegory, are two feral creatures. She is Circe, the sorceress who seduced Ulysses – the hero of Homer’s Odyssey and, notably, Aldrovandi’s namesake – and the beasts are Ulysses’s companions, turned into beasts by the potions of Circe. This choice of subject was certainly informed by Aldrovandi’s interest in natural phenomena – real or presumed, as the representations of monstrous creatures testify – and by his connection with pharmacology, a field upon which he entered into a bitter dispute with the College of Medicine in Bologna.

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16 bacc i o band inelli (1493–1560)

Bust of a Young Man, c.1540 White marble 76 cm (29⅞ in.) high (overall) prove nance Collection of Stefano Bardini, Florence, c.1891–93 Private collection, a castle in western Switzerland l ite r ature B.W. Lindemann et al., ‘Baccio Bandinelli, Büste eines jungen Mannes’, Patrimonia, vol. 339, Berlin, 2009

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany

This idealized portrait all’antica of a handsome young man was carved by Baccio Bandinelli, one of the great Renaissance sculptors of the Florentine Cinquecento. Bandinelli, Cellini and Michelangelo competed for Medici patronage around the middle of the sixteenth century, creating some of the most iconic sculptures in the history of Western art. In the present bust Bandinelli invokes Michelangelo’s use of heroic proportions and, particularly, the facial types of his David and Giuliano de’ Medici. The handling and finish are also redolent of Bandinelli’s early busts of Cosimo I in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and in the Bargello, Florence.

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17 pad ua, c. 1 520 –2 5

Pacing Bull from the Rape of Europa Group Bronze 13 cm (5 in.) high 23 cm (9 in.) high overall prove nance Inventory of the estate of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol in Innsbruck and Ambras, 1596, fol. 420v; inventory of Ambras Castle, 1680, fol. 26r; inventory of the Imperial Treasury in Vienna, 1750, p. 576; Ambraser Collection in Vienna (Belvedere), 1880; Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, 1891; Sold to Dr. Ing. Franz Kieslinger Kunsthandelsgesellschaft Wien, 1923 l ite r ature H. Zimmermann, ‘Inventare, Acten und Regesten aus der Schatzkammer des Allerhöchsten Kaiserhauses’, Jahrbuch der kunsthistorischen Sammlungen des Allerhöchsten Kaiserhauses, X, 1889, CCLII–CCCXXIV; W. Boeheim, ‘Inventar des Nachlasses Erzherzog Ferdinands II von Tirol in Ruhelust, Innsbruck und Ambras, vom 30 Mai 1596’, Jahrbuch der kunsthistorischen Sammlungen des Allerhöchsten Kaiserhauses, VII/2, 1888, CCXXVI–CCCXII; W. Seipel, Additionen: Neuerwerbungen des Kunsthistorischen Museums 1990–2008, Vienna 2008, pp. 66–68; C. Kryza-Gersch, in S. Haag, ed., All’Antica. Götter & Helden auf Schloss Ambras, exh. cat., Innsbruck 2011, p. 107

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria

This beautiful Cinquecento model of a bull, most likely cast in Padua c.1520–25, was deaccessioned from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in 1923. The reason was perhaps that they had two examples in the collection and the present work had a small hole in its back, which was mistakenly believed to be a flaw. However, this hole became the key to uncovering the identity and origin of the bronze. When a small female figure of a Bacchante residing in the Kunstkammer of the museum was attached to the back of this bull, via this small hole, it fitted perfectly. Her elegant pose conformed exactly to the contours of the animal’s back and the facture of both casts was to all appearances identical and by the same hand. This was enough to identify them as the group known since 1596 from the inventory of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol representing the mythological tale of Europa being carried off by Jupiter disguised as a bull. The reunion of these two figures, after many years, led to a rare purchase by the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

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18 j o s eph nollek ens (1737–1823)

A ‘Pensiero’ of Eve Bewailing the Death of Abel Terracotta 25.4 cm (10 in.) high provenance Nollekens sale, Christie’s, London, 4 July 1823, lot 39, bought by ‘Turner’ Professor Michael Jaffé CBE (1923–1997), Cambridge, United Kingdom and thence by family descent on loan to the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom (1976–2016) liter atur e ‘A Catalogue of the whole of the highly valuable collection of Antique and Modern Sculpture of the late Joseph Nollekens, Esq, R.A, Dec.... which will be sold by auction by Mr Christie, on Friday, July the 4th, 1823, lot 39’; J. Kenworthy-Browne, ‘Terracotta models by Joseph Nollekens R.A.’, The Sculpture Journal, 2, 1998, pp. 72–84

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Joseph Nollekens is regarded as Britain’s foremost sculptor working between 1770 and 1815. He was an artist whose achievements in sculpture are often viewed as comparable to those of the great painter Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792). Nollekens was a proliﬁc modeller in terracotta, and this represented ‘the greatest pleasure our Sculptor ever received’ ( J.T. Smith, Nollekens and His Times, 1828, p. 347). In the catalogue of Nollekens’s posthumous collection sale in 1823, the present ﬁgure of Eve appears under the category of ‘Pensieri in Terra Cotta’, lot 39, along with a group of ‘Cain and Abel’.

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19 ro m a n, 1 st– 2nd c entu ry ad

Marble Torso of a Satyr (possibly Ampelos) Bigio morato (Aphrodisias, Asia Minor) 38 cm (15 in.) high prove nance Private collection, Germany

Private collection, United Kingdom

This wonderfully dynamic torso is carved from the variety of ancient marble known as bigio morato, quarried near Aphrodisias in Caria, Asia Minor. There are great similarities between the modelling and carving style of this Torso and a half-length Satyr, also in bigio morato from Asia Minor, at the Palazzo Altemps in Rome and formerly in the Boncompagni Ludovisi collection. The apparent familial relationship with the Altemps Satyr in material and style raises the possibility that the Torso depicts another satyr from the same group, in the retinue of Dionysus. This could include his lover, the fabled satyr Ampelos, of whom the Greek poet ‘Nonnus of Panopolis’ wrote in his Dionysiaca in the early fifth century AD. After his death Dionysus is said to have transformed Ampelos’s body into the first grape vine and created wine from his blood.

20 j e a n -  tienne liotar d (1702–1789)

A Pair of Portrait Miniatures Depicting Prince Charles Edward Stuart (1720–1788) and Prince Henry Benedict Stuart (1725–1807) Watercolour and gouache on vellum 7.4 cm (2⅞ in.) high, excluding frame 5.5 cm (2⅛ in.) wide, excluding frame provenance Possibly James Francis Edward Stuart, Palazzo Muti, Rome Empress Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, wife of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, Vienna, by 1738 Sir Alfred Chester Beatty, Clonmannon, Ashford, Co. Wicklow, Ireland, by 1968 Private collection, England liter atur e M. Roethlisberger and R. Loche, Liotard: Catalogue Sources et Correspondance, Doornspijk, 2008, vol. I, pp. 257–58, nos. 46, 49; vol. II, figs. 49, 50

Private collection, Germany

Born to French parents in Geneva, Jean-Étienne Liotard trained in Paris under the miniaturist and printmaker Jean-Baptiste Massé. During a sojourn in Rome between 1736 and 1738, Liotard was commissioned by the exiled ‘Old Pretender’ to the English and Scottish thrones, James Edward Stuart (1688–1766), to paint a portrait of his sons, the young princes Charles (‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’) and Henry Stuart. Undoubtedly well aware of how powerful portraiture could be, in particular when of royalty in exile seeking a restoration to the throne, James sought by this to further his family’s claim to power. Indeed, compelling images of the Stuart royal family could be easily sent abroad – in the form of portrait miniatures, engravings and prints – to important Jacobite supporters, both in order to ensure their continuing loyalty and as an inspirational means of raising men and funds to plan a future uprising. This pair of works epitomizes the heights of quality which Liotard would reach in representing the aristocracy and royalty of the day.

21 g i ambolo gna (1529–1608)

Mars Probably cast by Fra Domenico Portigiani, c.1580 Bronze 39.5 cm (15⅓ in.) high 9.5 cm (3¾ in.) wide

Private collection

This exquisite bronze cast by Giambologna is one of the sculptor’s most celebrated models. Although commonly known as Mars, it is described in several early records as a ‘Gladiator’ and as such appears in the list of authentic subjects by the master that were drawn up by Markus Zeh as early as 1611. The nude male figure vigorously strides forward with his right foot, holding a sword at the ready in his right hand, while the balancing left arm is held forward at an elegant angle. The centrifugal movement of the arms and the striding motion allow the figure to be seen in the round, while physically and psychologically it dominates the surrounding space and represents an idealized combination of masculine beauty and strength. The survival of this figure’s original sword is a highly distinctive and very rare feature, while the fresh and lively facture strongly suggests this is one of Giambologna’s earliest high-quality casts. The work has remained in remarkable condition, with its original lacquer and patina. According to Baldinucci, this figure was modelled from life around 1580 after a handsome soldier, a nobleman called Bartolommeo di Lionardo de’ Ginori. Standing seven feet six inches high, he was commonly known by foreigners as ‘il grande Italiano’. Giambologna thanked him with the gift of one of his own Crucifixes. This was worth a considerable amount, and the gracious method of rewarding him indicated that the sculptor regarded himself as a gentleman, just as the recipient was a nobleman.

22 c av. c i n cinnato baru z z i (1796–1878)

Baccante Cimbalista, 1837 (Bacchante playing the Cymbals) White marble 148 cm (58¼ in.) high prove nance Commissioned by Countess Antonietta Fagnani Arese, Milan, 1837 from whom acquired by Count Leonino Secco Suardo, Bergamo and by descent to Countess Camilla Maffei Marazzi, Bergamo Private collection, Lucca, Italy e xhib ite d Accademia di Brera, Milan, 1837 l ite r ature G. Mazzini, Cincinnato Baruzzi: la vita, i tempi, le opere, Imola, 1949, pl. X A. Mampieri, Cincinnato Baruzzi, Bologna, 2014, pp. 185–89

Private collection, Russia

Having studied in Rome under Antonio Canova, Cincinnato Baruzzi became one of the most accomplished interpreters of the master’s vocabulary during the late Neoclassical period in Italy. He had been named director of Canova’s Roman workshop upon the master’s death, and also completed many of his works. Alongside this activity, he carved sculptures of his own invenzione, which display great narrative flair and for which he received extensive praise. Amongst his most successful compositions was our Bacchante playing the Cymbals, which he first presented at the 1837 Accademia di Brera’s annual exhibition in Milan. Initially executed for the noblewoman Antonietta Fagnani Arese, it captured the attention of Count Leonino Secco Suardo, who immediately asked the contessa if he could acquire the piece. She agreed, and commissioned another version from Baruzzi. The same composition was also presented by Baruzzi at the London Great Exhibition of 1851 and at the Paris Salon of 1853.

23 j o h n bacon the eld er (1740–1799)

A Female Centaur with a Bacchante & A Male Centaur with a Bacchante, c.1770 After Roman frescos discovered in the Villa of Cicero at Pompeii, 1st century BC–1st century AD Terracotta 34 cm (13⅜ in.) diameter provenance Dr Terence Friedman (1940–2013), Leeds, United Kingdom, until 2011

Private collection, USA

These Bacchic compositions were inspired by ancient Roman frescos uncovered in Pompeii in 1749 and illustrated in the highly influential Le Antichità di Ercolano, the earliest most complete scholarly compendium describing the finds from the excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum. The Marquess of Lansdowne (1737–1805) had casts made of the paintings, which he is recorded to have allowed Josiah Wedgwood to replicate for his celebrated porcelain manufactory. The author of this pair of terracotta roundels, the sculptor John Bacon the Elder, collaborated on more than one occasion with his near contemporary Wedgwood, and it is certainly in this affiliation that the origin of the present reliefs is to be found. Apprenticed in London, Bacon had become by 1770 an Associate Member of the Royal Academy, and received throughout his career a steady flow of commissions for private and public monuments alike. His reliefs, such as this pair of models for Wedgwood, display a confident handling of the anatomies and meticulous attention to detail. Wedgwood's versions of the centaur compositions – extremely rare today – are documented in two examples, each featuring the Female Centaur with a Bacchante, preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and in the Huntington Library in California. Their subject-matter exemplifies the early resonance of Pompeian models in Britain, and illustrates a key chapter in the development of the country’s artistic vocabulary and tradition.

24 s i r a n t hony van dyc k (1599–1641)

Profile Head Study for The Raising of the Cross, 1631 Oil on panel 39.3 cm (15½ in.) high 30.6 cm (12 in.) wide provenance W.E. Duits, London, 1935, as ‘Sir Anthony van Dyck’

Private collection, New York, USA

This powerful head study, set in sharp profile, is a sketch for one of the figures in the altarpiece of The Raising of the Cross painted by Anton van Dyck for the cathedral of Courtrai, or Kortrijk, in West Flanders. The artist received payment for this monumental canvas on 20 May 1631, which offers a terminus ante quem for the execution of our panel. It constitutes an important testimony of the master’s early work, in which his training under Peter Paul Rubens fuses with the lesson of the great Italian masters he had admired during his stay in the peninsula (1621–27) to reveal his own exquisite pictorial language. The free, impressionistic handling of the brush and fluid, fine application of the paint all indicate that this work was intended as a preparatory study, of the kind Van Dyck is documented painting at different stages in his career. Looking up towards the dying Christ, our figure’s intense, contemplative stare is beautifully described by Van Dyck, who shadows the eyes, thus suggesting depth and creating a contrast with the rosier tones of the skin. The silver curls of the hair and beard are executed in a variety of hues, which imply the reflection of light – especially the white highlights – and a sense of movement. Tonal gradation is also central to the rendering of the figure’s complexion, lighter around the temples and more vivid towards the finely contoured tip of the nose and edge of the forehead. Van Dyck must have been pleased with this subtly observed study, as he used it a second time, for the figure of the kneeling unbeliever in Saint Anthony of Padua’s Miracle of the Host, painted for the church of Récollets in Lille (Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille). As Horst Vey has commented, ‘The unbeliever’s head is so like that of the bearded executioner in the Raising of the Cross that the same study clearly served for both’ (S.J. Barnes et al., Van Dyck: A Complete Catalogue of Paintings, 2004, p. 276, under no. III.39).

25 fr a n c es co da s angallo (1494–1576)

A Pair of Allegorical Figures, possibly representing Oratoria and Grammatica Bronze, with a rich brown patina 21 cm (8¼ in.) high the left figure 18.4 cm (7¼ in.) high the right figure

Hearn Family Trust

A remarkable rediscovery, the present pair of bronzes representing two male allegorical figures constitute an important addition to the corpus of Francesco da Sangallo. The son of an established architect from Florence, Francesco followed his father to Rome when he was summoned by Pope Julius II della Rovere to work on the greatest project of the age, the new Basilica of St Peter’s. Aged twelve, Francesco witnessed the rediscovery of the monumental Laocoön group, and later assisted the great Michelangelo in the New Sacristy for Florence’s Basilica of San Lorenzo. The impact of these unique experiences is visible even in the small-scale, studiolo character of this pair of figures. Their muscular anatomies, clad in sumptuously draped togas, the classical echo of their poses and the distinctive character of their expressions all speak of the monumental sculptural language inspired by antiquity and the bold idealization of the early Cinquecento. Sangallo absorbed this lesson, yet equally displayed a highly individual style, characterized by a meticulously detailed, crisp modelling of the forms, and a heightened sense of realism.

26 j o s eph c hinar d (1756–1813)

Bust of a Gentleman, probably Nicolas Thérèse Benoît Frochot, 1806 Conseiller d’État and first Préfet de la Seine (1761–1828) White marble 67.3 cm (27½ in.) high sig ne d Chinard de Lyon

Private collection

Joseph Chinard was one of the greatest portraitists of his age. Born in Lyon to a family of silk merchants, he trained as an artist in his native city until, thanks to a local patron, he was able to travel to Rome and admire its ancient and modern masterpieces. Upon his return to France he joined the cause of the Revolution and began receiving a steady flow of commissions, which only increased during Napoleon Bonaparte’s Consulate and Empire. Thus Chinard’s portraits read as a history of one of France’s most transformative periods, captured in the expressions of all its individual characters. Amongst them was the sitter of our bust, Nicolas Thérèse Benoît Frochot, Conseiller d’État and first Préfet de la Seine, a trusted ally of Napoleon’s. As is characteristic of Chinard’s work, the bust skilfully combines idealization and realism, paying great attention to fashion details such as hair, costume arrangements and the medals.

27 ro m an, late 1 6 th c entu ry

An Important Italian Pietra Dura and Specimen Marble Tabletop The top of rectangular outline, inlaid with various specimen marble and hardstones including various alabasters, breccia Quintilina, Afghan lapis lazuli, bianco e nero, verde antico, brocatello di Spagna, giallo di Siena, rosso antico and quartz, centred with a rectangular piece of alabastro fiorito, framed by a narrow band of scrolling ornament and small cartouches, set into a ground of verde antico marble within graduated bands of scrolling foliage, strapwork and geometric cartouches 92 cm. (36Âź in.) high 180.5 cm. (71 in.) wide 120 cm. (47Âź in.) deep

Private collection, Italy

Emblematic of a highpoint in Italian decorative arts, this Roman Renaissance tabletop is one of the most original examples to be found of coloured marble inlay from late sixteenth century. The central rectangle in alabastro fiorito has only two documented parallels, in Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, and in the Colegiata di Lerma, Burgos. The rich use of lapis lazuli, a precious stone imported from the East, endows the composition with sumptuous brilliance, while the agate petals of the several flowerheads that adorn the topâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s border constitute a finely detailed naturalistic element. In Rome hard stones such as lapis lazuli or agate in particular were commonly cut and prepared by jewellers, as recorded in many contemporary sources, which bespeaks the level of precision and artistry pietra dura work entailed.

28 g i ambolo gna (1529–1608)

Pacing Horse Cast 1573–77, probably by Girolamo di Zanobi Portigiani Bronze 25.1 cm (9⅞ in.) high including bronze base 28.7 cm (11¼ in.) wide l ite r ature P. Wengraf in Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes from the Hill Collection, exh. cat., London, 2014, pp. 126–33

Collection of Mr and Mrs J. Tomilson Hill

Giambologna realised a series of pacing horses, culminating in the colossal equestrian monument of Grand Duke Cosimo de’ Medici installed in the Piazza della Signoria, Florence, in 1594. The exceptional quality of the present cast, revealed by its fine facture and modelling, along with the attached oval base, establish the bronze as one of the earliest statuettes associated with Giambologna himself. The horse is portrayed in midstride, with his right foreleg and left hind leg raised. Its elegant movement and expressive head beautifully epitomize Giambologna’s unrivalled artistry in capturing the vitality of animals. The superior quality of this bronze, likely to have been cast by Girolamo di Zanobi Portigiani, is particularly evident in the minute study of naturalistic details such as the decoration of the tail or the small bit of mane left uncut at the base of the horse’s neck.

29 fr a n c e s co di virgilio fanelli (1577–c.1661)

Daniel in the Lions’ Den Gilt bronze 18.5 cm (7¼ in.) high 25.5 cm (10 in.) wide

Private collection, USA

A character worthy of a late eighteenth-century Gothic novel, ‘Francisco the one eyed Italian’ appears instead in the 1639 Van der Doort inventory of the British royal collection as the author of a series of small-scale bronzes. A native of Florence, Francesco Fanelli had settled in England by 1632, the year King Charles I first granted him a pension of £60. Having reached considerable fame in his motherland – especially in Genoa, where he had worked for prominent families such as the Spinola and the Durazzo – Fanelli must have captured the attention of the Stuart court thanks to the very fine quality of his casting and to the similarity of his style with that of the great Florentine sculptor Giambologna. In England, Fanelli executed the gilt-bronze plaquettes for a cabinet originally owned by the famous diarist John Evelyn (1620–1706), and for a wooden frame enclosing a panel representing Orpheus, both now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. These included relief images of lions, which display the same idiosyncratic traits as those in Daniel in the Lions’ Den. Executed with Fanelli’s typically vibrant modelling and spirited portrayal of emotions, this relief is an important and unique addition to the sculptor’s oeuvre.

30 fr a n ois gir ar d on (1628–1715)

Bust of Modios Asiatikos After the Antique Bronze 43.8 cm (17¼ in.) high 34.4 cm (13½ in.) wide mar king s TH 12 51 prove nance François Girardon, Paris, by 1709 Chancellor Louis Phélypeaux (1643–1727), Marquis de Phélypeaux, comte de Maurepas and comte de Pontchartrain, Cabinet of the Hôtel de la Chancellerie, Versailles, by 1714 by descent to Château de Pontchartrain, Le Tremblay-sur-Mauldre, France, by 1747 Palais de Tuileries, Paris, 18th century l ite r ature F. de La Moureyre in A. Maral, Girardon, le sculpteur de Louis XIV, Paris, 2016, p. 440, illus.

Private collection, Belgium

This commanding bronze effigy formed part of the personal collection of François Girardon, premier sculpteur du Roi to the ‘Sun King’ Louis XIV of France. It is recorded in the illustrated plates of La Galerie de Girardon as ‘Asiaticus head in Bronze cast after the Antique placed on a socle’ (plate IV, number 11). The ‘Antique’ which the caption refers to is an ancient Greek marble bust dating to the late first century BC or early first century AD now in the Cabinet des Médailles of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris. Its fascinating history is recounted by the comte de Caylus in his renowned Recueil d’antiquités égyptiennes, étrusques, grecques, romaines et gauloises (1752–67, vol. VI, p. 142). Discovered in mysterious circumstances, it was shipped to France around 1685 from Smyrna, present-day Izmir in Turkey, to be offered to King Louis XIV. By 1714 it was recorded in the collection of the influential French Chancellor Louis Phélypeaux (1643–1727), comte de Pontchartrain. It is around this date that Girardon, as principal bronze caster to the King, would have gained access to it in order to make the model for the present bronze.

31 antonio di pietro averlino, called filarete (c.1400–1469)

The Triumph of Caesar over King Juba, c.1433 Bronze 27.4 cm (10¾ in.) wide 15.4 cm (6¼ in.) high inscribe d IVLIVS CAESAR REX • IVBA prove nance Private collection of Terence Lapping Thirkhill, Leeds, since the 1960s liter atur e R. Glass, ‘Filarete at the Papal Court: sculpture, ceremony and the antique in early Renaissance Rome’, PhD thesis, Princeton University, May 2011, p. 520, fig. 82

Private collection, New York, USA

The exciting rediscovery of this highly important and seminal Early Renaissance masterpiece by Antonio di Pietro Averlino, called Filarete, depicts Julius Caesar on horseback, leading his defeated foe, King Juba, in a triumphal procession. This intriguing and enigmatic work probably originated around 1433, just after Filarete moved to Rome and began designing the exquisite bronze doors of St Peter’s Basilica, which to this day adorn its central portal. Filarete probably trained under Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378–1455) in Florence and, along with Ghiberti, was an early master of bronze relief sculpture. He had a crucial influence over the entire genre, especially with regards to all’antica pieces such as the present work, with which the Renaissance has become synonymous. This bronze is an exciting addition to the study of epoch-making sculpture of the Quattrocento and is the primary, autograph work by Filarete, of which two derivative examples exist in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, and the Musée du Louvre, Paris.

32 ro m an, 2nd c entu ry ad

Head of Dionysus White marble 45 cm (17¾ in.) high 23 cm (12½ in.) deep 26 cm (10¼ in.) wide provenance Henri Rotceig, Marbella (before 1998) Jacques and Galila Hollander collection, Brussels

Private collection, Italy

Dionysus – the ancient god of wine and revelry, known as Bacchus to the ancient Romans – is here represented with his head, crowned with a wreath of ivy leaves, gently turning to one side, and his locks softly tied back with a ribbon that runs across his forehead, framing a most handsome and youthful countenance. Balancing classical idealization with carefully observed naturalism, this head is a masterful example of Roman craftsmanship inspired by Hellenistic models. The Hellenistic roots of the present marble can be observed in the neatly defined, deeply carved curly locks, the almond-shaped eyes framed by beautifully arching eyebrows and the slightly parted lips, a detail that, together with the turning of the head, endows the compositions with a subtle, almost hesitant, sense of movement.

33 jaco b hoef nagel (1573–1632/35)

The Triumph of Autumn Oil on copper 27 cm (10⅝ in.) high 35,2 cm (13⅞ in.) wide s ig ned and date d IA. HOEF: F MDCV (on the epistyle of the temple to the left); collection no. 116 over one of the columns of the temple prove nance Emperor Rudolf II (1552–1612), Prague Private collection, Germany, from 1840 Dr Oswald Barber, Sierichstrasse, Hamburg

Private collection, New York, USA

This exquisite oil on copper, signed and dated 1605, was painted in Rome by Jacob Hoefnagel for the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (1552–1612). A major discovery by the present gallery, this is the third painting in the series of four mythological/allegorical scenes in which Hoefnagel depicted the Seasons of the Year. The Triumph of Autumn, as the artist himself titled it, is fully documented in a letter dated 20 August 1610 that Hoefnagel sent to Emperor Rudolf II requesting payment for the series. Wonderfully preserved, the painting retains its irresistible brilliance of colour, inviting the viewer into a complex narrative inspired by triumphal processions. The complex composition is dominated by the allegorical figure of Autumn, who sits enthroned beneath a vine bough lusciously decorated with ripe grapes. In the foreground, Bacchus is approaching from the left riding on a donkey, while in front of him a female figure, perhaps Ceres, goddess of the harvest, rises up carrying a basket with colourful fruit. To the right, another partially clad female figure is seen from behind, in a pose that guides the viewer’s gaze back to the centre of the composition. This enigmatic figure is depicted standing in front of a young god, perhaps Apollo, who is wearing a wreath of autumnal leaves, as he reaches forward to take the contents of the young satyr’s neckerchief.

34 g i ambolo gna (1529–1608)

Julius Caesar, c.1551 Limewood 46 cm (18¼ in.) high 51.5 cm (20¾ in.) high overall s ig ned and date d I.CAE.A.I./D.B.VECCHIETTI./I.BOLOGNA.B.IN.G.A.S./MDLI prove nance Senator Bernardo Vecchietti (1514–1590), Villa Il Riposo, near Florence, c.1551 by descent, Vecchietti family, until 1759 Private collection, Paris, before 1959 Private collection, Portugal, until 1974 William and Gabriella Robertson, Los Angeles, until 1992 Private collection, Germany

exhibited C. Avery and A. Radcliffe, Giambologna, Sculptor to the Medici, exh. cat., Arts Council of Great Britain, Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, 1978, no. 221; lent to the Victoria and Albert Museum liter atur e For full bibliography, see Tomasso Brothers Fine Art, Giambologna Julius Caesar, 2017; also F. Scholten in Schatten der Zeit. Giambologna, Michelangelo und die Medici-Kapelle, exh. cat., Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Munich 2018, no. 19

Private collection, Antwerp, Belgium

This signed and dedicated statuette is the earliest recorded work by Giambologna ( Jean de Boulogne) and is the only surviving sculpture that he carved in wood. The figure depicts the Roman general and politician Julius Caesar, nude and standing in a classical pose, but it is modelled using fine, typically northern European woodcarving techniques. This unique and extraordinarily important work therefore represents a wonderful marriage of two major artistic traditions, by one of Europe’s greatest sculptors. The present work emerged shortly before the ground-breaking exhibition on Giambologna held in Edinburgh, London and Vienna in 1978. Upon its discovery, the owners made the statuette available for investigation by international experts and it was accepted as an autograph work by Giambologna. The inscription on the underside reveals the work was dedicated by Giambologna to Bernardo Vecchietti, the financier, jewel expert, patron of the arts and key figure at the Florentine courts of Cosimo, Francesco and Ferdinando de’ Medici.

35 gr ego r i o d i lor enzo (c.1436–c.1504)

A Pair of Portrait Reliefs of Julius Caesar and Galba, 2nd half of the 15th century White marble Julius Caesar: 49.5 cm (19½ in.) high Galba: 50 cm (19¾ in.) high inscribe d IVLI CAESAR SERSVLPIGALBAIMPCAESAR prove nance Alberto Bruni Tedeschi Collection, Castle of Catagneto Po, Turin (or other residences in France)

Hearn Family Trust

The present pair of striking relief sculptures of Julius Caesar and Galba were carved by the Florentine sculptor Gregorio di Lorenzo, now identified as the hitherto anonymous sculptor known as the ‘Master of the Marble Madonnas’. As Francesco Caglioti has recently established, reliefs of Roman emperors were a particular speciality of his. A series of twelve rectangular marble reliefs of emperors by Gregorio di Lorenzo survive at the Casa Romei in Ferrara, after being purchased by the Commune of the city in 1472. In the same year, Gregorio di Lorenzo took a set of twelve marble reliefs of emperors to Naples. This series is related to an earlier commission for a group of heads depicting the twelve Caesars described in the work of the Roman historian Suetonius, which, significantly, was commissioned from Desiderio da Settignano – who received payments for it in 1455 – when Gregorio di Lorenzo was a member of his workshop.

36 a n tonio s u s ini (1558–1624)

The Rape of a Sabine Bronze 59 cm (23¼ in.) high

Private collection

The Florentine sculptor Antonio Susini, a goldsmith by training, was Giambologna’s favourite and arguably most accomplished bronze caster. This Rape of a Sabine is a wonderful example of their long-standing and rich collaboration. The composition – which draws on an episode of Rome’s mythical foundation – was first carved in marble by Giambologna and unveiled in January 1583 in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence. Standing over four metres high, it became an immediate sensation. Emperor Rudolf II requested a bronze model of it, and other prominent members of the European courts soon followed. This cast is part of a small group of exquisite-quality bronzes executed by Susini, distinguished by his characteristic crisp modelling of the hair, careful articulation of the finger and toenails, incised pupils and irises, and texturing tooling of the rocklike base. Specifically, Susini’s casts of The Rape of a Sabine also present a distinctive detail, a clasp at the back of the female figure’s diadem, unique to this model.

37 c av. e m a nu ele c aroni (1826–after 1895)

L’Amour vainqueur de la Force, c.1867 (The Triumph of Love over Strength) Carrara marble 107 cm (42 in.) high 94 cm (37 in.) wide 66 cm (26 in.) deep s ig ned and date d E. CARONI F. 1867 prove nance Firmstone family, West Midlands, probably acquired at the London International Exhibition, 1871 Firmstone family, Wordsley Manor, West Midlands, 1924, and by descent e xhib ite d Exposition Universelle, Paris, 1 April–3 November 1867 International Exhibition, London, 1 May–30 September 1871 l ite r ature L’Exposition Universelle de 1867 illustrée, vol. I, Paris, 1868, p. 228; The Art Journal, ‘International Exhibition. Sculpture’, vol. X, no. 33, 1871, p. 268; B. Soster, Dei Principi tradizionali delle arti figurative, Milan, 1873, p. 255; A. de Gubernatis, Dizionario degli artisti italiani, Florence, 1885, p. 103; A. de Gubernatis, Piccolo Dizionario dei contemporanei italiani, Rome, 1895, p. 196; C. Brun, Schweizerisches Künstler-Lexikon, vol. I, Frauenfeld, 1905, pp. 273–74; U. Thieme and F. Becker, eds., Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler, vol. VI, Leipzig, 1912, p. 30; J.F. McDermott, The Russian Journal and other selections from the works of Lewis Carroll, New York, 1935, p. 119

Private collection, Turkey

Emanuele Caroni studied at Milan’s Accademia di Brera, then in Florence under Lorenzo Bartolini, one of the most influential sculptors of the post-Canovan era. In 1875 he was made Fellow of the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno in Florence, the city where he established his workshop. Highly successful, he showed at exhibitions in Italy and abroad, including the first Italian National Exhibition in Florence in 1861, the year of the country’s unification, and the 1867 Paris, 1871 London and 1876 Philadelphia international exhibitions. Caroni’s submissions to these are representative of his work as a sculptor, which centred on large-scale allegorical, historical or literary themes, carved in the finest white marble. He subjected Neoclassical idealism to a heightened observation of reality, a quality also reflected in his treatment of surfaces. In L’Amour vainqueur de la Force, a portrayal of Cupid triumphing over a tamed lion, textural details such as the lion’s mane and the pattern on Cupid’s lyre are rendered with the utmost care, yet without losing the composition’s overall sense of emotion and movement. 82

38  , c.

King Louis XII of France Polychromed oak with extensive traces of the original paint and silvering . cm (9½ in.) high  cm ( in.) wide . cm (8½ in.) deep  The Cloisters Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of George Blumenthal, 

Private collection, United Kingdom

This beautifully preserved and serene figure of Louis XII, King of France (–), dating from around , retains the majority of its original polychromy. Carved statues of French kings in the round are exceptionally rare from this period and the present sculpture, which is perhaps from an altarpiece commemorating the king’s accession to the throne in , was possibly removed from its original position during the French Revolution. Louis XII is presented in royal vestments, with the collar of the order of Saint Michael visible around his neck. He wears a blue mantle with gold fleur-de-lis ornament, a gold and jewelled trimming and a large fur collar. His head is crowned, and his raised left hand most likely originally held a sceptre. The original polychrome on the face is carefully rendered to create a subtle dark shadow for the beard, and the delicate rosy cheeks create a wonderfully realistic and sensitive depiction of the French king. Louis XII came to the throne at the age of thirty-six as heir to the childless Charles VIII. His main military campaigns were all centred towards Italy, where he laid claim to the throne of Naples and that of Milan through his grandfather Louis of Orleans’s marriage to Valentina Visconti. He married the widow of his predecessor, Anne of Brittany, and upon her death in January  he wed Mary Tudor, sister of Henry VIII of England. George Blumenthal, in whose collection this sculpture was until 1941, was the Metropolitan Museum’s seventh President.

39 p i et ro c ipr iani (c.1679–1745)

A Pair of Busts of Geta and Plautilla, c.1722 Bronze, warm brown patina, reddish gold lacquer On original verde di Prato socles 47 cm (18½ in.) high 62 cm (24½ in.) high, with socles prove nance Commissioned from the artist by the Hon George Parker (c.1695–1764) for his father, Thomas Parker (1666–1732), 1st Earl of Macclesfield in 1722 and by descent at Shirburn Castle, Oxfordshire, to Richard Parker, 9th Earl of Macclesfield l ite r ature F. Baldinucci, Notizie dei professori del disegno, Florence, 1688, p. 126; E. Wright, Some Observations made in Travelling through France and Italy in Years 1720, and 1722, London, 1730, 2nd edition, 1764, vol. II, p. 412; T.P. Connor, The Fruits of a Grand Tour – Edward Wright and Lord Parker in Italy, 1720–1722, Apollo, July 1998, pp. 23–30, ill. 5, p. 26

Private collection, United Kingdom

Pietro Cipriani was one of the greatest sculptors of Florence’s Baroque golden era, and an accomplished assistant of Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi, the director of the prestigious Granducal Mint in Florence and of a flourishing workshop located in the Tribuna of the Uffizi. This exquisite pair of bronzes was executed by Cipriani for the Hon. George Parker, who had commissioned the sculptures whilst on his Grand Tour and subsequently gifted them to his father Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield. George Parker’s tutor, Edward Wright, wrote that Cipriani promised that his bronzes ‘should at least equal Soldani’s, and be the most exact that were ever made’. The busts are modelled after two ancient Roman marble effigies in the Uffizi, at the time believed to represent the young Plautilla, future wife of Emperor Caracalla, and her brotherin-law Geta. The exceptionally fine quality of these busts, both in terms of casting and chasing, enables us fully to appreciate the extraordinary technical ability of the Florentine masters of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.

40 j e a n - a n toine hou d on (1741–1828)

Bust of Christine Boyer (1771–1800), c.1800–03 White marble 67.5 cm (26½ in.) high 41 cm (16 in.) wide provenance Collection of Lucien Bonaparte (1775–1840), France and Italy by descent to his daughter, Charlotte Bonaparte (1795–1865), wife of Mario Gabrielli, Prince of Prossedi (1773–1841), Rome given to her cousin Charlotte Bonaparte (1832–1901), wife of Pietro Primoli, Count of Foglia (1821–1883), Rome by descent to Giusepppe Napoleone Primoli, Count of Foglia (1851–1927), Rome and Paris Baron Napoléon Gourgaud (1881–1944), Paris Baron Coudein, Île d’Aix, France exhibited Exposition rétrospective de portraits de femmes sous les trois Républiques, Palais de Bagatelle, Paris, 1909, no. 110, ill. p. 27 Exposition du centenaire de Houdon, Galeries Buvelot, Paris, 1928, no. 5, ill. p. 26 liter atur e For a full bibliography, see Tomasso Brothers Fine Art, Tefaf Highlights Catalogue, 2017, no. 10

Private collection, United Kingdom

A son of the Age of Enlightenment, Jean-Antoine Houdon closely witnessed some of the most significant events in European history, from the French Revolution to the rise and fall of Napoleon, relentlessly capturing with his hands and chisel the likenesses and spirit of its foremost protagonists. Richly documented, this marble bust of Christine Boyer, first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother Lucien, is a poignant example of Houdon’s mastery. Christine and Lucien had married in 1794, but she died prematurely in 1800, leaving her consort and their young children grief-stricken. Her portrait was commissioned from Houdon by Lucien himself, and treasured by the family for generations afterwards. It was originally placed beside Christine’s tomb in the garden at Plessis Chamant, where it is visible in a print published by Alexandre de Laborde in 1808.

41 g i ambolo gna (1529–1608)

Venus Urania, or Allegory of Astronomy, c.1585–95 Bronze 36.4 cm (14¼ in.) high prove nance Private collection, France

Private collection

Giambologna’s sculpture known as Astronomy or Venus Urania is one of the most elegant and beautiful of all Renaissance statuettes. Two other versions by Giambologna exist, one at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, and the other in the Schönborn Collection in Pommersfelden, Germany. The present bronze is almost identical to the Pommersfelden version in every detail and there can be little doubt that the two bronzes were cast from the same moulds and at the same time. The present bronze is one of the earliest and finest statuettes by the artist still in private hands and is a work of great historical importance as well as tremendous beauty. In its form, function and subject-matter the Venus Urania perfectly embodies the refined aesthetic vision and sophisticated taste of late sixteenth-century Florence under the Medici.

42 j o s eph c hinar d (1765–1813)

Bust of a Young Lady, perhaps Mlle de Civrieux, c.1804 Plaster 67 cm (26⅜ in.) high s ig ned and date d Chinard à Lyon, messidor an X (the 10th month, 20 June–19 July, of the 10th Republican year, 1802) prove nance Possibly Monsieur Zarakian, Paris, c.1910

Private collection, USA

The sitter of this wonderful original plaster portrait by Joseph Chinard, is likely Mlle de Civrieux, who can be identified from a terracotta bust dated 1804 in the Louvre. It is believed they were produced around the time that Chinard was commissioned by his fellow Lyonnais the banker Récamier to portray his charming young wife, Juliette. Always proud of his origins in Lyon, he trained there as a sculptor in the classical tradition and managed to go to Rome in 1784. Returning home in 1787, he later became one of the leading exponents of the Empire style, portraying several members of Napoleon’s family, including the Empress Joséphine. The present work exhibits the influence of the ancient portraiture he saw first-hand in Rome but is simultaneously imbued with contemporary ideals of beauty, representing the fine details of the sitter’s fashionable Empire period hairstyle and dress.

43 fr a n ois gir ar d on (1628–1715)

The Abduction of Proserpina Bronze, rich olive patina with extensive traces of original lacquer 105 cm (41½ in.) high prove nance possibly Vaudreuil collection sale, 26 November 1787, lot 184 whence d’Espagnac-Tricot collection their sale, 22 May 1793, lot 192 (sold 2,350 livres to Haudiq) Private collection, Sweden l ite r ature A. Maral, Girardon, le sculpteur de Louis XIV, Paris, 2015, pp. 428, 450, 511, illus. p. 449

Private collection, Europe

The greatest French sculptor of his day, François Girardon was crucial to the birth of the classical style of academic sculpture that took centre stage during the reign of the ‘Sun King’, Louis XIV, and would influence generations of artists to come in France and beyond. A major addition to Girardon’s oeuvre, this bronze is an autograph cast of one of the master’s most spectacular and sophisticated compositions, famously also executed in marble for the planned, yet never completed, Parterre d’Eau in the gardens at Versailles. Both an homage to two of the most celebrated masterpieces of previous generations – Giambologna’s Rape of the Sabine Woman in the Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence (finished in 1583), and Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s portrayal of The Abduction of Proserpina, dating to 1622 (Galleria Borghese, Rome) – and also a bold statement of intent, this tour de force by Girardon depicts the moment in ancient mythology when the god Pluto abducts Proserpina and carries her off to his reign – the Underworld – to become his wife, as recounted in Book V of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The earliest of Girardon’s bronzes of this subject, the present bronze is cast in one piece, which is generally accepted to be the customary practice for primary examples. The subsequent ones are section cast, due to the complexity of the composition. As such this Abduction of Proserpina constitutes not only a highly important but also a unique cast in Girardon’s production, closely related to one of his principal royal commissions.

44 a n tonio s u s ini (1558–1624)

The Fowler After a model by Giambologna (1529–1608) Bronze with reddish-golden lacquer patina 31 cm (12¼ in.) high provenance Ballyfin House, County Laois, Ireland

Private collection, New York, USA

The bronze presented here was a major discovery by our gallery. The Ballyfin Fowler was cast and chased to the highest level by Antonio Susini (1558–1624) after a model by Giambologna. The model depicts a birdcatcher holding a lantern to attract small birds, which he would then strike with the club held in his right hand. The lantern is upraised so that no light will fall on the holder whilst he hunts in the night. The Fowler is recorded in Markus Zeh’s 1611 list of authentic models by Giambologna, and is also mentioned in Baldinucci’s 1688 life of the artist. Displaying the distinctive characteristics of Antonio Susini’s style of chasing, which is synonymous with the greatest bronze-making of the era, we can count the present work amongst the most treasured extant bronzes by Giambologna’s major assistant.

45 roman, 1 st c entu ry ad

Standing Aphrodite, fragment Marble 101.6 cm (40 in.) high prove nance Private collection, USA

Private collection

This alluring fragment would have originally formed part of a representation of Aphrodite of the Anadyomene type, where the epithet indicates she is ‘rising from the sea’. This iconography is connected with the goddess’s legendary birth, famously immortalized in the Renaissance by Sandro Botticelli (now Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi). The daughter of Zeus in Homer’s Iliad, in Hesiod’s Theogony Aphrodite was fathered by Uranus and emerged fully formed from the waters, whereupon she was clothed, as described by Botticelli. Venerated primarily as the goddess of love, she was known as Venus to the Romans. Carved in statuary marble of very high quality, this rare fragment is characterized by splendid drapery, tied in a knot across the goddess’ waist. This type of arrangement, alongside the contrapposto stance of her feet, finds close parallels in a group of Roman marble statues after Hellenistic models dating from the first century BC to the first century AD, which include an Aphrodite Anadyomene in the Vatican Museums, restored by Carlo Albacini, and another one in the Musei Capitolini.

46 g i a n fr anc es co s u s ini (1585–1653)

Pacing Bull Bronze, reddish-gold translucent lacquer over olive-brown patina 20.5 cm (8 in.) high

Private collection, France

Gianfrancesco Susini was apprenticed in Florence to his uncle Antonio Susini, who had been a favourite of the Flemish sculptor Giambologna, and went on to further his training with a trip to Rome to study the ancient masters in 1624–26. Upon his return, Gianfrancesco inherited the Florentine workshop of his uncle, where he continued producing, as Antonio had done, highly finished casts of Giambolona’s models, such as the present Pacing Bull. Typical of Gianfrancesco are the accomplished quality of the cast, the tooling skillfully used to describe different surface textures and the saturated colour of the patina under the translucent red lacquer. Small-scale bronzes of this type were highly sought after to adorn the studioli of palaces across Europe, simulacra of the great Giambologna’s genius and of the extraordinary skill of Florentine masters.

100

47 c lau de m i c h el, k nown as c lod ion (1738–1814)

Petit Lion, late 18th century Plaster 22 cm (8¾ in.) high 42 cm (16½ in.) wide 20 cm (8 in.) deep s ig ned CLODION prove nance Private collection, United Kingdom

Private collection, France

This exquisite plaster model of a lion was made by one of the most creative and technically gifted French sculptors of the second half of the eighteenth century. It is a work that until now was thought to have been lost. In the studio inventory made upon Clodion’s death in 1814 there is recorded a ‘Petit Lion, P’ (= plaster), which is believed to be the present model. Although Clodion demonstrated his ability to execute large marble sculptures, his genius was expressed to its full potential in his small terracotta and plaster models, in which he was able to fuse the movement and energy of French and Roman Baroque works of the seventeenth century with themes from antiquity in a style that was lighter, more delicate and more sensual than those of his contemporaries.

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48 h a n s r eic hle (c.1565–1642)

Christ at the Column Bronze 30.5 cm (12 in.) high prove nance Private collection, Belgium

Private collection, New York, USA

One of Giambologna’s most talented pupils from Northern Europe, Hans Reichle entered the master’s Florentine workshop in 1588, following the recommendation of Archduke Ferdinand, Count of Tyrol. He soon displayed remarkable technical ability, most notably in his work on the equestrian monument for Cosimo I de’Medici for the Piazza della Signoria in Florence. By 1595 he had moved to Munich, where, in the same year, his figure of Mary Magdalene for the monument of Duke William V in the Michaelskirche was cast. Prestigious commissions then called him to Brixen, in South Tyrol, again to Florence, and also to Augsburg. In 1607 he permanently settled in Brixen, where he remained until his death, working in the capacity of architect, engineer and overseer of building works for the bishop’s court. The predominantly large-scale nature of Reichle’s output makes this small-scale bronze a precious rarity. First proposed by Manfred Leithe Jasper (1990), the attribution of this composition to the master has been confirmed by comparison with a statuette formerly in the Barbara Piasecka Johnson collection (30.2 cm high) and with an Allegory of Spring in the Grünes Gewölbe, Dresden (33.8 cm high), first ascribed to Reichle by Friedrich Kriegbaum in 1931.

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49 rome, 1 7 th c entu ry

An Important Pair of Polychrome Marble Busts of Horace and Cicero Red ‘imperial porphyry’, black ‘touchstone’ and ‘breccia Pernice’ Horace 71.5 cm (28¼ in.) high; 54.5 cm (21½ in.) wide Cicero 76 cm (30 in.) high; 61 cm (24 in.) wide inscribe d HORATIVS and M: TUL. CICERO provenance Giuseppe Valletta (1636–1714), Naples (where Horace is first recorded in 1685 as ‘uno incognito di porfido’) by descent to his nephew Francesco Valletta (1680–1760), Naples his sale, Naples, before 24 August 1720, where acquired by ‘un Medico Inglese’ acquired by Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke (c. 1656–1733), Wilton House, c.1721 by descent to Sidney Charles, 16th Earl of Pembroke (1906–1969) Private collection, USA (Horace); private collection, France (Cicero) l ite r ature ‘A Copy of ye Book of Antiquities at Wilton’, British Library, Stowe MS 1018; C. Creed, The Marble Antiquities … at Wilton, &c., London, 1730; G. Richardson, Aedes Pembrochianae, London, 1774, 13th edn 1798; J. Kennedy, A Description of the Antiquities and Curiosities in Wilton House, Salisbury, London, 1769; R. Cowdry, A Description of the Pictures, Statues, Busto’s, Basso-relievo’s, and other Curiosities at the Earl of Pembroke’s House at Wilton, London, 1751; W. Stukeley, ‘My lord Pembroke’s Collection’, 1723, Bodleian Library, Oxford, MSTop. Wilts. e 6; W. Stukeley, Itinerarium curiosum, London (1725), 2nd edn 1776

Private collection, Milan, Italy

By great good fortune, this important pair of seventeenth-century portrait busts, after spending decades apart, were re-united by our gallery in the space of a few months. They depict Cicero (106–43 BC), the virtuous civic hero of the late Roman Republic, and Horace (65–8 BC), the famed poet of Rome’s Augustan period. They originally formed part of the great Valletta collection in Naples, but around 1721 were purchased by Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl Pembroke, for his country residence of Wilton House, near Salisbury, one of England’s finest stately homes. Until the mid twentieth century, this pair of busts were displayed at the heart of one of the greatest private art collections ever assembled in Europe, flanking the main chimneypiece of the Great ‘Double Cube’ Room designed by Inigo Jones, amongst family portraits by Van Dyck. The busts are extensively documented in guidebooks to Wilton House from 1723. Here they are referred to as ‘Horace, the Poet of Porphyry’ and ‘Cicero, of Touchstone’. These names derive from the beautiful and rare materials from which they were carved.

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50 a n tonio s u s ini (1558–1624)

Hercules Slaying a Centaur, c.1600–10 After a model by Giambologna, c.1594–99 Bronze 40.2 cm (15¾ in.) high 21.5 cm (8½ in.) wide prove nance Quentin Johnson collection, Kent, United Kingdom, inherited in 1973; purchased in the United Kingdom in the late 1940s l ite r ature P. Wengraf, D. Allen et al., Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes from the Hill Collection. exh. cat., Frick Collection, New York, 2014, pp. 138–47

Collection of Mr. and Mrs. J. Tomilson Hill

This bronze cast of Giambologna’s model of Hercules Slaying a Centaur, by Antonio Susini, is considered to be one of the finest examples known. The present work joins the casts in the Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienna, the Galleria Colonna, Rome, and the Schönborn Collection, Pommersfelden as the most important by the master. The meticulous execution of the fine details such as the fingers, toenails, bulging veins, carefully incised eyes and the modelling of the lionskin are hallmarks of Antonio Susini’s hand, especially of those bronzes he produced after opening his own workshop in 1600. The present work has also survived in remarkable condition, having maintained a great deal of its original rich red and gold lacquer and beautiful surface patina. The earliest document referring to a bronze cast of Giambologna’s group by Antonio Susini appears in the posthumous inventory of Lorenzo Salviati of 1609, as ‘a Hercules beating to death a centaur, in bronze’; this is now in the Galleria Colonna, Rome. The Salviati version was among the statuettes borrowed by Pietro Tacca in 1611 so that he could make his own casts from them, which were ultimately sent to Henry, Prince of Wales (1594–1612) in 1612.

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51 j o h a n tobias s ergel (1740–1814)

A Nymph and a Satyr Crowned by Cupid, c.1770–80 Terracotta, in original gilt wood frame 36 cm (14¼ in.) high, including frame 51 cm (20 in.) wide, including frame mar king s The original gilt wood frame stamped E.L.INFROIT.JME provenance Private collection, France

Private collection, London, United Kingdom

This lively terracotta relief is modelled with the vivid, impressionistic handling characteristic of Johan Tobias Sergel, arguably the greatest Swedish sculptor and draughtsman of the eighteenth century. A unique composition, it represents Cupid crowning the amorous encounter between a nymph and a satyr, a subject – as is often the case with Sergel’s early production – inspired by antique models. The encounter with antiquity, which was a transformative experience for Sergel, took place on his first sojourn in Rome, where he had travelled after some years of training in Paris. The richness of the city’s heritage led him to explore an artistic vocabulary that surpassed the boundaries of his French Rococo training, one that recognized ‘there was no master to follow other than Antiquity or Nature’, as the artist himself once explained in a letter. Faithful to this principle, Sergel systematically set out to study Rome’s antiquities by day and its environs by night, as documented in several of his sketchbooks. The present relief, inspired by antiquity yet animated with the life-force Sergel would have encountered during his nocturnal perambulations through the eternal city, is beautifully emblematic of this crucial period in the artist’s career, and as such can be dated between 1770 and 1780. Dating to the same period are a number of sketches and terracottas that bear close resemblances with this work, and, taken together, beautifully illustrate the development of Sergel’s artistic language.

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IMAGE: REMOVE PINK/togliere rosa

52 gi a n fr a nc es co s u s ini (1585–1653)

The Borghese Satyr After the Antique Bronze, with traces of dark cherry-red varnish 33 cm (13 in.) high prove nance The late Professor Michael Jaffé, CBE (1923–1997), on loan to the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, 1976–2016

Private collection, New York, USA

This statuette is a beautifully worked reduction of one of the most impressive and admired ancient marble statues in the Borghese Collection, Rome. The ﬁgure is immaculately modelled after its ancient prototype, but with a change of iconography towards a calmer, sweeter subject and effect: the satyr is now presented as if in middance, brandishing in the air, not a club, but a recorder, with an accurately chamfered mouthpiece. The statuette is fully attributed to Gianfrancesco Susini (1585–1653), who learned the art of bronze casting from his uncle Antonio Susini (1558–1624), himself one of the most talented disciples of Giambologna. Upon taking over his uncle’s workshop at via dei Pilastri in Florence in 1624, Gianfrancesco continued in the successful tradition of producing of casts after Giambologna’s models, but also made several ﬁgures and groups after the famous antiquities of Rome. Indeed, the biographer Filippo Baldinucci wrote in his Notizie on Antonio Susini (ed. Ranalli, 1846, IV, p. 110) that the sculptor was greatly esteemed by Giambologna, who sent him to Rome to make copies of the finest statues in that city. A similar bronze to the present was included in the famed collection of François Girardon (1628–1715), the leading court sculptor of the ‘Sun King’, Louis XIV. It was illustrated (probably in reverse) in the Galerie de Girardon by René Charpentier around 1708 and shortly afterwards engraved and published by Nicolas Chevalier.

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53 roman, c. 50 –1 50 ad

Bacchus and a Satyr White marble 132 cm (52 in.) high 63.5 cm (25 in.) wide 40 cm (16 in.) deep prove nance William Lowther (1787–1872), 2nd Earl of Lonsdale, Lowther Castle, Westmoreland, by 1865–72; by descent to Lancelot Edward Lowther (1867–1953), 6th Earl of Lonsdale, Lowther Castle, Westmoreland; Maple & Co. sale, Penrith, 1947, ‘Major Part of the Earl of Lonsdale’s Collection’ (lot 2350); Charles Ede Ltd, London

Museum of Fine Arts Houston, USA

The extraordinary group of Bacchus and a Satyr is a masterpiece of ancient sculpture, carved from the finest statuary marble. It has survived in excellent condition, which is very rare for complex pairs in this type of configuration. The subjects probably represent Dionysus, the god of wine, and Pan, his loyal follower, who in the present work exchange a gaze of genuine kindness and adoration. In his right hand Dionysus carries a thyrsus, a common attribute of the god, decorated with ribbons and crowned with a pinecone. In his left hand he appropriately holds a wine cup, with handles fashioned in the shape of grape vines, whereas Pan sports a stick that could have been used to hunt rabbits. The group came from the great antiquities collection built by William Lowther, 2nd Earl of Lonsdale, who was one of the richest men in England. He housed his antiquities in two galleries at Lowther Castle from 1866, from which they were dispersed in the great sale of 1947.

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54 g i u s e p pe piamontini (1664–1742)

Milo of Croton Bronze, hollow cast by the lost-wax process, the figure cast separately and bolted on from below the terrain and affixed to the tree-trunk 43.5 cm (17⅛ in.) high provenance Private collection, Scotland

Private collection, London, United Kingdom

This exquisitely cast and chased bronze portrays Milo of Croton, a 6th-century BC Olympic athlete renowned for his great strength. The ancient Roman author Valerius Maximus recounts how Milo tried to wrench apart an oak tree which had been half split by wedges, but only succeeded in causing the wedge to fall out, thereby trapping his hands and remaining prey to the wild beasts that devoured him. Piamontini illustrates Milo’s agony as he struggles against the oak tree; this tension is beautifully mirrored by the textural contrast between the smooth, shiny polish of Milo’s flesh and the tree’s hard, rugged bark. Along with our cast, only two other versions of this composition are known, all of which manifest slight differences. The other casts lack the sprig of oak leaves with an acorn which crowns one of the bifurcating branches at the top of the tree. This pleasing detail, artistically appropriate and original, leads us to believe that the present bronze is the earliest known extant version.

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55 j os eph hall (b. 1789)

A Likeness of the Celebrated Greyhound ‘Squib’, 1834 Derbyshire alabaster and Ashford marble 44.5 cm (17½ in.) high, 49 cm (19¼ in.) including base 88 cm (34½ in.) wide 42 cm (16½ in.) deep sig ne d Joseph Hall, Marble Works, Derby, 1834 ins cr ib ed Likeness of the celebrated Greyhound Squib. The property of the Rev.d Ch.s Stead Hope of Derby. In 1823 Squib won the Bye Stakes at Sudbury. 1824 the Cup at Sudbury. 1825 the Goblet at Sudbury. 1825 the great sweepstakes at Chatsworth. provenance The Reverend Charles Stead Hope, Derby

Private collection, USA

The creator of this majestic champion greyhound was Joseph Hall the Younger, a sculptor who ran the Derby Marble Works and exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1838 and the Great Exhibition of 1851. It seems Hall was known for carving sculpture from exquisite specimens of locally sourced Derbyshire stone, like Ashford ‘Derbyshire Black Stone’ and Derbyshire alabaster. In fact, the materials he used were considered so remarkable and unusual that in the catalogue for the 1838 Royal Academy exhibition, in which Hall took part, the author clearly felt he had to assure the public that ‘the colour of the marble is entirely natural’.

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