Giacomo Manzù

Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York
The Lefevre Gallery, London
Acquired from the above by the husband of the present owner in 1972

New York, Rosenberg Gallery, Giacomo Manzù, 1972, no. 10
London, The Lefevre Gallery, An Exhibition of Important 20th Century Paintings and Sculpture, 1972, no. 5, illustrated in the catalogue (titled Seated Cardinal)

The theme of cardinals, inspired by church dignitaries often encountered on the streets of Manzù’s native Bergamo, was a dominant subject in the artist’s œuvre. It provided Manzù with a source of endless inspiration and experimentation: whilst some are elegant, elongated figures pointed to the heavens, others, such as the present work, have a volumetric pyramidal shape conveying a sense of earthbound monumentality. Discussing the Cardinale series, John Rewald wrote: 'The first drawing of the subject dated from 1934, the first sculpture from 1938. Between 1949 and 1950 the first large cardinal was created, and this was followed one after another by many more, sitting and standing, small, large and even more than life-size... In Manzù's hands the cardinals were transformed into compact forceful volumes enlivened by extremely tender modelling and generously draped folds. The massiveness of the volume is stressed by the economy of lines and the simplicity of plastic means' (J. Rewald, Giacomo Manzù, Greenwich, 1966, p. 59).