AFTER THE ANTIQUE, CIRCLE OF PIETRO BARGA (ACTIVE C.1574-1588), ROME, CIRCA 1580

The ancient marble Farnese Bull was excavated in the Baths of Caracalla in 1545 and was immediately moved to the Palazzo Farnese in Rome. In 1579 it was restored by Gian Battista Bianchi, and the present group appears to have been cast soon after its unveiling. There are two other known versions of this specific model, in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich (H. Weihrauch, Die Bildwerke in Bronze und in Anderen Metallen, Munich, 1956, no. 161), and the Museo di Capodimonte, Naples (Parma, Fondazione Magnani Rocca, La collezione Farnese di Capodimonte, I bronzetti, 9 Apr. - 25 June 1995, no. 32), both catalogued as 'Rome, c. 1580' by Weihrauch and Capobianco, respectively. The present model is largely faithful to the marble, apart from various small details, including the absence of the dog beneath the bull. The handling and facture is comparable to the Roman sculptor Pietro Barga, who himself made a version of the Farnese Bull (Bargello, inv. no. 447). The surface of the present version has been very precisely and abundantly worked, either in the wax or incised after casting, which suggests that it was an important commission for the sculptor.

We would like to thank Dr Charles Avery for his assistance with this catalogue entry.