TOMASSO: The More a Thing is Perfect
TOMASSO: The More a Thing is Perfect
After Giambologna (1529-1608), Netherlandish or German, 17th century
Fortuna
Lot Closed
April 29, 01:46 PM GMT
Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
After Giambologna (1529-1608)
Netherlandish or German, 17th century
Fortuna
bronze, on a veined black marble base
bronze: 49.5 cm., 19½in.
base: 9 cm., 3½in.
The model of Fortuna was attributed to Giambologna in 1973 by Katherine Watson and Charles Avery, who brought to light documents which confirmed that Giambologna had designed a nude female figure of Fortune holding a sail. A group of bronzes formerly attributed to Danese Cattaneo were judged on the basis of style and quality to be derived from Giambologna's model. Watson and Avery concluded that the Fortuna may have been intended as a pendant to the sculptor's Mercury, as the two poses mirror each other and find a conceptual precedent in one of Andrea Alciati's Emblemata, where the two symbolise the contrast between industriousness and blind faith.
As in the present statuette, early bronze versions of Fortuna do not include a full sail but only the ends of the cloth in the figure’s hands, which are finished in such a way as to suggest that a full sail was never intended. The prime cast, believed to be by Antonio Susini, is held in the Musée du Louvre, while another Susini cast, formerly in the Ribes Collection, was sold at Sotheby's Paris on 11 December 2019 (€1.8 million). The present bronze is likely to have a southern German or Netherlandish origin, as is indicated by its brassy, golden colour and distinctive facial features, which are reminiscent of bronzes by the Netherlandish-born Munich court sculptor Hubert Gerhard (circa 1540-1620), who trained in Giambologna's Florentine circle.
RELATED LITERATURE
K. Watson and C. Avery, 'Medici and Stuart: a Grand Ducal Gift of "Giovanni Bologna" Bronzes for Henry Prince of Wales', in Burlington Magazine, CXV, 1973, pp. 493-507; C. Avery and A. Radcliffe, Giambologna: Sculptor to the Medici, exh. cat., London, 1978, pp. 70-71, no. 16
As in the present statuette, early bronze versions of Fortuna do not include a full sail but only the ends of the cloth in the figure’s hands, which are finished in such a way as to suggest that a full sail was never intended. The prime cast, believed to be by Antonio Susini, is held in the Musée du Louvre, while another Susini cast, formerly in the Ribes Collection, was sold at Sotheby's Paris on 11 December 2019 (€1.8 million). The present bronze is likely to have a southern German or Netherlandish origin, as is indicated by its brassy, golden colour and distinctive facial features, which are reminiscent of bronzes by the Netherlandish-born Munich court sculptor Hubert Gerhard (circa 1540-1620), who trained in Giambologna's Florentine circle.
RELATED LITERATURE
K. Watson and C. Avery, 'Medici and Stuart: a Grand Ducal Gift of "Giovanni Bologna" Bronzes for Henry Prince of Wales', in Burlington Magazine, CXV, 1973, pp. 493-507; C. Avery and A. Radcliffe, Giambologna: Sculptor to the Medici, exh. cat., London, 1978, pp. 70-71, no. 16