Italian, Florentine, Second half of 16th century

solid cast

'Les écorchés', Connaissance des Arts, July 1959, pp.74-79, fig.6

Overall the condition of the bronze is very good with some minor wear to the patina consistent with age. There is a small area on the top of the head where the iron armature is visible. The proper left hand is missing and the iron armature is visible there also.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

When the only other known cast of this model of an écorché was acquired by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 1961, Anthony M. Clark considered that it was 'one of the closest reflections of Michelangelo known in the field of small bronzes' (Inv.61.35.5). This opinion reflected the attribution of the present cast to Michelangelo himself that was published in Connaissance des Arts in 1959. Clark also related the bronze to Michelangelesque tendencies in the work  of Ludovico Cigoli, active a generation later. Since then the bronze in Minneapolis has been described as attributed to Cigoli's contemporary, Pietro Francavilla.  However L. Price Amerson's 1975 catalogue raisonné of models and statuettes of écorchés rejects any association with Francavilla, seeing no stylistic affinities or resemblance to the écorché which are attributed to him.  Equally Amerson is unconvinced by the involvement of Cigoli, whose wax in the Bargello is very different in treatment.

Amerson's analysis of this model notes that the figure is recorded in the engravings of  François Girardon's cabinet and is listed in his posthumous inventory.  This may also have been the écorché which later passed into the collection of Cardinal Richelieu. Amerson further traces the composition back to a number of sixteenth century drawings mostly deriving from Michelangelo's own study of a figure from behind, related to the Battle of Cascina, in the Albertina, Vienna (Inv.no.118), as well as to three drawings of écorchés at Windsor (Inv.nos. 0624, 0802, 0803), also related to Michelangelo but probably to be associated with the work of Bartolomeo Passarotti (1529-1592) later in the century.

The re-appearance of the present cast of the standing écorché is important because it provides new evidence which was unknown to Amerson, who only knew it from the illustration in Connaissance des Arts. Most significantly the present cast is 11¾in. (30cm.) rather than 9½in. (24cm.). The Minneapolis cast has a left hand which is not present here, although, judging from illustrations the Minneapolis left hand may be replaced. 

RELATED LITERATURE
A.M. Clarke, 'Recent Acquisitions II', Minneapolis Institute of Arts Bulletin, vol.LI, no.2, June 1962, p.38, 43; H. Comstock, 'The Connoisseur in America', The Connoisseur, vol.CXLIX, January 1962, p.64; L. Price Amerson, The Problems of the Ecorché: A catalogue raisonné of models and statuettes from the sixteenth century and later periods, Michigan, 1975, vol.2, pp.229-250, no.15; C. Avery (M. Ratti & A. Acordon eds.), Sculture. Bronzetti, placchette, medaglie Museo Civico Amedeo Lia della Spezia, La Spezia, 1998, p.142-143, no.15