Lot 10
  • 10

Marino Marini

Estimate
1,000,000 - 1,500,000 GBP
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Description

  • Marino Marini
  • PICCOLO CAVALLO
  • stamped M.M. and with the foundry mark Fonderia MAF
  • bronze, hand-chiselled and painted by the artist
  • height: 55cm.
  • 21 5/8 in.

Provenance

Hanover Gallery, London
Private Collection, England
Private Collection, USA
Sale: Sotheby's, London, 8th February 2005, lot 53
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Literature

Edouard Trier, Marino Marini, Cologne, 1954, illustration of another cast pl. 19
Helmut Lederer & Edouard Trier, Marino Marini, Stuttgart, 1961, illustration of another cast pl. 64
Patrick Waldberg, Herbert Read & Gualtieri di San Lazzaro, Marino Marini, Complete Works, New York, 1970, no. 264, illustration of the Pierre Matisse cast p. 363
Carlo Pirovano, Marino Marini: Scultore, Milan, 1972, no. 270, illustration of the Pierre Matisse cast fig. 117 and p. 161
Ellen Maurer, Marino Marini, Kunstwerke 3, Munich, 1997, no. 15, illustrated p. 43
Mario Meneguzzo, Marino Marini - Cavalli e cavalieri, Milan, 1997, no. 50, illustration of the Pierre Matisse cast p. 218
Fondazione Marino Marini (ed.), Marino Marini, Catalogue Raisonné of the Sculptures, Milan, 1998, no. 336b, illustration of the Pierre Matisse cast p. 238

Condition

Dark brown patina, hand-chiselled and painted by the artist. This work is in very good condition.
"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."

Catalogue Note

The present work is a remarkable example of Marini's rendering of horses, and relates to the monumental Cavallo of 1951 (fig. 1). A dominating theme throughout most of Marini's career, the subject of the horse was rarely invested with such energy and dramatic force as in the present work. In the years before and during World War II, Marini executed his horses with a certain grace and poise reminiscent of classical sculpture. In the 1950s, however, this subject was charged with an energy that would reflect the anxiety and instability of the new era. In contrast to the tranquillity of Marini's horses of the 1940s, the present work indicates the artist's move towards a more expressive rendering of this theme that characterised his mature work, whilst retaining the elegance of his earlier pieces.

The extraordinary power and beauty of Piccolo cavallo lie in the careful rendering of its surface, showing the artist's almost painterly attention to finish. Inspired like most Italian artists by antiquity, Marini was drawn not to the refinement of Hellenistic sculpture, but to the rougher, more energetic expression of the Archaic period in Greece and Etruscan sculpture in Italy. Amongst 20th century sculptors, Marini was one of the most actively involved in the finishing of his pieces before they left the foundry, often applying varying surface marks and paint to his bronzes. A stunning example of Marini's involvement in hand-chiselling and painting a sculpture, Piccolo cavallo exhibits a variety of surface treatments, from smooth and polished to rough and chiselled, that invests the work with an immediacy and versatile quality rarely achieved in this medium.

The polychrome plaster cast of Piccolo cavallo (fig. 2) is now in the collection of the Staatsgalerie Moderner Kunst in Munich, while another bronze cast is at the Ludwig Museum, Cologne.

 

Fig. 1, Marino Marini, Cavallo, 1951, bronze, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Nelson A. Rockefeller bequest, Pocantico Historic Property, New York
Fig. 2, Marino Marini, Piccolo cavallo, 1950, polychrome plaster, Staatsgalerie Moderner Kunst, Munich