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Lot Essay
Among sculptors of the 16th century, the ability to carve in marble was considered to be the ultimate challenge, and the creation of a successful group was the highest testament to a sculptor's talent. Earlier in the century, Michelangelo had suggested that the goal of the sculptor should be to create a composition that was serpentine in form - that is, without a dominant viewpoint but equally successful from numerous different angles, inviting the onlooker to move around the sculpture.
In 1579, Giambologna had created a two figure bronze for the Duke of Parma which he developed into the idea of a monumental three figure marble in the early 1580s. It was to be the pinnacle of Giambologna's career as a marble carver and it stands today in the Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence, where it was unveiled on 14 January 1583. It is known by the title the Rape of a Sabine but, interestingly, the earliest sources give no subject to the group. For Giambologna, the marble group was an intellectual exercise in the successful integration of three figures into a balanced whole; the subject was of secondary importance to him.
The group was an instant sensation and there was immediate demand for bronze reductions to be made. The great art patron Emperor Rudolf II is known to have owned an example and other casts entered princely collections around Europe.
The present cast is a beautifully executed bronze and compares extremely closely with examples in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich, and the collection of the Prince of Liechtenstein (illustrated in Weihrauch and Liechtenstein, locs. cit.), both of which have been attributed to Gianfrancesco Susini. Gianfrancesco was the nephew of Antonio Susini who was Giambologna's principal assistant and the author of many of the most beautiful casts to have emanated from the Giambologna workshop. Gianfrancesco studied and worked with his uncle and his casts share the jewel-like quality and rich, reddish-gold lacquer for which the latter was famous.
The bronze offered here also has a distinguished provenance, having belonged to the art historian Michael Jaffe. Jaffe was a Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, and director of the Fitzwilliam Museum between 1973 and 1990. His portrait was sculpted by Elizabeth Frink.
In 1579, Giambologna had created a two figure bronze for the Duke of Parma which he developed into the idea of a monumental three figure marble in the early 1580s. It was to be the pinnacle of Giambologna's career as a marble carver and it stands today in the Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence, where it was unveiled on 14 January 1583. It is known by the title the Rape of a Sabine but, interestingly, the earliest sources give no subject to the group. For Giambologna, the marble group was an intellectual exercise in the successful integration of three figures into a balanced whole; the subject was of secondary importance to him.
The group was an instant sensation and there was immediate demand for bronze reductions to be made. The great art patron Emperor Rudolf II is known to have owned an example and other casts entered princely collections around Europe.
The present cast is a beautifully executed bronze and compares extremely closely with examples in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich, and the collection of the Prince of Liechtenstein (illustrated in Weihrauch and Liechtenstein, locs. cit.), both of which have been attributed to Gianfrancesco Susini. Gianfrancesco was the nephew of Antonio Susini who was Giambologna's principal assistant and the author of many of the most beautiful casts to have emanated from the Giambologna workshop. Gianfrancesco studied and worked with his uncle and his casts share the jewel-like quality and rich, reddish-gold lacquer for which the latter was famous.
The bronze offered here also has a distinguished provenance, having belonged to the art historian Michael Jaffe. Jaffe was a Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, and director of the Fitzwilliam Museum between 1973 and 1990. His portrait was sculpted by Elizabeth Frink.