Gasparo Cairano da Milano (active 1489-1517) and workshop Italian, Brescia, circa 1500

inscribed: F166 in red ink to the reverse

With Mr. Manheim, Paris, by whom sold in 1890 to
Prince Johannes II of Liechtenstein, Gartenpalais, Rossau, Vienna,
Schloss Vaduz, Liechtenstein, 1944
Property from the collection of the princely House of Liechtenstein, Christie’s Amsterdam, 1 April 2008, lot 17

 

Overall the condition of the marble is good. There is some wear and dirt to the surface consistent with age with some particular dirt to the sides and a stain to the edge of the cup. There is some faint dark naturally occurring veining visible on the surface, particularly at the proper left shoulder and to the drapery around the ankles, and a naturally occurring stable hairline fissure around to the waist at the front. There are a few minor chips, including to the big toe of the proper right foot, the edges of the drapery at the sides and the proper left elbow and larger losses to the back corners of the base.
"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."

During Brescia’s remarkable expansion under Venetian rule, the Milan-born sculptor Gasparo Cairano was involved in a large number of its major sculptural commissions.  He gained so much respect that he was praised by the great champion of Veneto classicist sculpture, Pomponius Gauricus.  Cairano’s work is characterised by an expressive realism complemented by classical elements.  Here the classically inspired drapery and the throne's legs carved with lion's heads show the artist's debt to antiquity. The tension in the arms, treatment of individual strands of hair and the mannered facial type, on the other hand, show his debt to Renaissance sculptors, such as Antonio Mantegazza. 

Very similar female figures by Cairano can be found on the portal of Sant’Apollonio in the cathedral in Brescia as well as on a marble altar from the Kress collection now in the National Gallery in Washington (inv. no. K.123). Another version of the current subject is the Loggia di Brescia.

RELATED LITERATURE
V. Zani, Gasparo Cairano e la scultura monumentale del Rinascimento a Brescia (1489-1517 ca.), Ph.D. thesis, Universita degli Studi a Milano, 2004