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Lot Essay
The present bust is closely comparable to three signed and dated busts by Giovanni Gonelli: of Pope Urban VIII (Palazzo Barberini, Rome), Pope Innocent X (Biblioteca Vallicelliana, Rome) and Canon Francis Chiarenti (Palazzo Comunale, Gambassi Terme).
In his twenties Gonnelli studied under Pietro Tacca in Florence, but while in the service of Carlo I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, he was blinded. In time he regained his confidence, and 'il Cieco da Gambassi' (the Blindman from Gambassi) gained favour with several popes and the Italian nobility and became known for his eccentric portrait busts.
The thermoluminescence test carried out by Arcadia Technologie per i Culturali, Milan, on the 27 February 2012 suggests that the last firing of the bust is compatible with the proposed dating of the first half of the seventeenth century.
In his twenties Gonnelli studied under Pietro Tacca in Florence, but while in the service of Carlo I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, he was blinded. In time he regained his confidence, and 'il Cieco da Gambassi' (the Blindman from Gambassi) gained favour with several popes and the Italian nobility and became known for his eccentric portrait busts.
The thermoluminescence test carried out by Arcadia Technologie per i Culturali, Milan, on the 27 February 2012 suggests that the last firing of the bust is compatible with the proposed dating of the first half of the seventeenth century.