The warrior strides forward in a lunging movement, naked except for a cloak swept over his left shoulder and a scabbard slung over his right shoulder. He wears a hero's laurel crown and has the remains of the hilt of a sword in his right hand. With his left hand he holds a youth across his back by the right leg. The dead youth bleeds from a wound in his left side. This dramatic and ambitious group is directly inspired by a monumental antique marble from the Farnese collection (fig. 1), whose subject matter has been much debated (see below). Its beautiful original translucent patina is a rare survival amongst Italian 16^th century bronzes. The combination of a dynamic composition with exaggerated anatomy, but inspired by the antique, and cast with vigour yet refinement are the hallmarks of the great Netherlandish sculptor, Willem van Tetrode.

Fiammingo scultore

There are three great 16^th century sculptors from the Low Countries whose style and fame were formed in Italy: Giambologna, Adrien de Vries and Willem van Tetrode. Today all three are highly esteemed for their contributions to the development of Mannerist sculpture and their rare autograph bronzes are highly sought after by museums and collectors alike. Tetrode is probably the least appreciated of this triumvirate, so the appearance at auction of this fabulous lifetime bronze provides a welcome opportunity to explore his individual style.

Born in Delft, Tetrode had moved to Florence by 1548 to work as an assistant to Benvenuto Cellini - a few years before Giambologna’s arrival there. It is thought that he had previously assisted Cellini in France on commissions for Francis I. From Cellini’s detailed accounts it is clear that by this time Tetrode was already a highly gifted marble carver, trusted with the execution of important marble commissions, such as the Bust of Cosimo I de’ Medici, the exuberant marble base for Cellini’s bronze statue of Perseus and, in an indication of things to come, the group of Ganymede and the Eagle, which incorporated an antique torso. Around 1552, Tetrode moved to Rome where he worked with Guglielmo della Porta. At this time della Porta was much engaged as a restorer of antique sculpture and it was Tetrode’s involvement in this activity which proved instrumental in the formation of his future development. Tetrode's development of a 'northern aesthetic' influenced many future artist's including Peter Paul Rubens.

Source and Subject: The inspiration of the Farnese marbles

The present bronze is the first tangible proof of Tetrode’s engagement with the Farnese marbles. Tetrode’s inspiration for the unusual and intriguing subject comes directly from an ancient Roman marble of which he would have had first-hand experience when assisting Guglielmo della Porta on the restoration of the Farnese marbles.

Today displayed in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples, in the same room as the renowned Farnese Hercules, Flora Farnese and Farnese Bull, the group is of similar monumental proportions to its more famous neighbours. It was discovered in the Baths of Caracalla in 1546 and Della Porta’s workshop (possibly Tetrode himself) would have been responsible for the restorations, which include the man’s head - based on a bust of Commodus - both his arms and right leg, as well as the boy’s arms and legs.

The later addition of the Emperor's head has led to one interpretation of the subject as Commodus as a gladiator. Other interpretations have included: Atreus with the son of Thyestes, Athamas with Learchus, Hector rescuing the body of Troilus, or the related subject of Achilles with the body of Troilus. The latter identification is the one ultimately favoured by Marvin (op. cit. pp. 362-3) since the boy’s wound, which she deduces would have been made by an arrow or spear, would negate an identification with Astyanax. Nevertheless, recent commentators have preferred the Neoptolemus and Astyanax subject for this Cinquecento bronze.

Whether Achilles or Neoptolemus is the main figure, the bronze can be said to depict an episode from the Trojan Wars. Neoptolemus was the son of Achilles and the princess Deidamia. Odysseus was sent to bring the teenage Neoptolemus to Troy to deliver the arrows of Heracles which the captured Helenus, king Priam’s son, had predicted would contribute to the downfall of Troy. In most accounts Neoptolemus is considered a ruthless warrior who killed king Priam. Astyanax was, the son of Hector and Andromache, and crown prince of Troy. The marble shows Neoptolemus in the act of throwing Astyanax over the walls of Troy. It is interesting to note that Astyanax is shown with a bleeding wound in his stomach. Although Neoptolemus has the hilt of a sword in his right hand that one might imagine would be the lethal weapon, Marvin's observations mentioned above leave an element of doubt of the precise subject. Nevertheless, the main attraction for this bronze when it was cast in the mid-16^th century was certainly its association with the recently discovered ancient Roman marble.

A bronze fit for a Cardinal?

The superb finish and rich patina elevate this bronze to be a luxury object fit for a collector of sophistication and erudition. The patron for whom this bronze would have had obvious appeal is Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (1520-1589) himself.

Whilst there is no documentary evidence for this, the model is not one, like the Apollo Belvedere or the Farnese Hercules, which would have had general appeal. But for Alessandro Farnese it would have been a sumptuous reminder of one of the masterpieces of his collection that he could have appreciated in the privacy of his studiolo. In the Villa Farnese at Caprarola Alessandro's studiolo, known as the Gabinetto d'Ermatena, was begun in 1566, whilst he had an even more ambitious studiolo in the Palazzo Farnese, devised with the guidance of Annibal Caro and Fulvio Orsini. Further encouragement came from Girolamo Garimberto who described how the Cardinal's collection could be arranged, 'with all your small objects, such as medals, cameos, inkstands and clocks, but of course giving pride of place to that outstanding Cassetta...you could have a fine cornice running around the internal wall, with several niches, and you could adorn it above with a fine series of little bronze or marble figurines, such as the two remarkable Fauns that you have, and the unsurpassed little figure that belonged to Corvino...so by gathering together an ensemble of so many gems and objects of extraordinary beauty and richness...you will give pleasure to yourself regularly and to others on occasion, besides it serving as an antidote to your worries'(Robertson, op. cit., p. 50). What better context for a beautifully patinated bronze reduction of one of your prized antiquities?

There is no finer example of the Cardinal’s taste for such luxurious objects inspired by antique models than the famous Cassetta Farnese, referred to by Garimberto. Made between 1548 and 1561, it dates to exactly the period of Tetrode's first Roman sojourn when the present bronze may well have been cast. By the second half of the 1550s Tetrode was already working for the Orsini on the great Pitigliano Cabinet that monopolised his time until 1562, after which Tetrode was engaged in projects between Florence and Rome before he finally departed the Eternal City in 1566. A date for this bronze of 1552-1558 would distinguish it as Tetrode’s earliest extant small bronze. Scholten (exh. cit. p. 116) favours a slightly later date around 1559-1562 during his second Roman period.

Exhibited in the 2003 retrospective exhibition at the Rijksmuseum and Frick Collection that decisively demonstrated Tetrode’s supremacy as one of the greatest bronze sculptors of the later 16^th century, this exceptional bronze is one of the sculptor’s earliest autograph works. It boldly announces many of the features which came to define his oeuvre. The fabulous patina, the movement and drama of the composition are all key features of Tetrode’s later oeuvre and the particular form of the integrally cast base is tantamount to a signature. The last autograph work, which came to auction in January 2014, set a record for a Tetrode bronze when his Samson slaying the Philistinesold at Sotheby’s, New York for $3,301,000.

RELATED LITERATURE

M. Marvin, 'Freestanding Sculptures from the Baths of Caracalla', American Journal of Archaeology, July 1983, vol. 87, no. 3, pp. 347-384;

C. Robertson, 'Il Gran Cardinale' Alessandro Farnese, Patron of the Arts, New Haven and London, 1992

400,000 GBP - 600,000 GBP