A BRONZE GROUP OF HERCULES AND IOLAUS WITH THE HYDRA

Details

A BRONZE GROUP OF HERCULES AND IOLAUS WITH THE HYDRA
ATTRIBUTED TO MASSIMILIANO SOLDANI BENZI, FLORENTINE, EARLY 18TH CENTURY, AFTER A MODEL BY ALESSANDRO ALGARDI
Above a naturalistic rockwork base
Greenish brown patina with traces of gilding; torch damaged
12¾in. (32.5cm.) high

Provenance

With Mathias Komor, New York, 1962

Literature

J. Balogh, 'Due Bronzetti di Alessandro Algardi', in Arte in Europa. Scritti di storia dell'arte in onore di Edoardo Arslan, Milan, 1966, vol. I, pp. 699-71
M. G. Aggházy, Italian and Spanish Sculpture (Collection of Old Sculpture in the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts) Budapest, 1977, no. 42 J. Montagu, Alessandro Algardi, New Haven and London, 1985, vol. II, pp. 408-9, cat. no. 128
S. Bellesi, 'L'Antico e i virtuosismi tardo-barocchi nell'opera di Giuseppe Piamontini,' Paragone, 1991, n. 497, pp. 21-38
G. Pratesi, Repertorio della Scultura Fiorentina del Seicento e Settecento, Turin, 1993, vol, I, pp. 56, 94

Lot Essay

The present group and two other examples in bronze (Budapest and Hartford) are related to an Algardi model (now lost). An ivory version carved in Rome circa 1668-1669 by Baldassare Stockamer and sent to Cardinal Leopoldo de'Medici in 1675 probably reflects the original Algardi model and explains the connection to later Florentine sculptors. Another related casting model in wax is in the Museo di Doccia, and the moulds for this came from a sculptor's workshop. The intention was to cast versions in porcelain.

The present bronze is the only late 17th century cast and has been attributed variously to Giuseppe Piamontini and Massimiliano Soldani Benzi. According to Montagu, "The perfection of the finish of this group, with delicate punching in the hair and fur, together with the translucent varnish, suggests a Florentine origin, and the attribution to Soldani is extrememly plausible."