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Lot Essay
Part of a group of three types of related crouching nude warriors, the present bronze is nearly identical to another in the Widener Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.. The two figures are most probably cast from the same model. The second related type which is notable for its rough surface treatment and coarser finishing comprises examples in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (no. 5583), the Hermitage, Leningrad (no. sc. 1348) and the Museo di Palazzo Venezia, Rome (coll. Auriti). The third type with an extensively remodelled and elaborate helmet consists of single model also in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (no. 5819).
The Widener example had been published by first Bode (W. Bode, The Italian Bronze Statuettes of the Renaissance, 1912, vol. 3, pl. CCLVII), then Radcliff as Paduan, circa 1530. As Radcliff points out, a depiction of a crouching warrior in almost identical stance is seen in Riccio's plaquette Battle Before the Gate of a City, three versions of which are signed by Riccio. Further support for relating this model to the oeuvre of Riccio can be found in another virtually identical figure in his relief Victory of Constantine in the Ca'd'oro, Venice (for Radcliff's in-depth discussion of this attribution to Riccio, see Sculpture from the David Daniels Collection, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 26 October 1979-13 January 1980, pp. 24-27, cat. no. 6).
Andrea Briosco, called Riccio, trained as a goldsmith following his father's profession. By 1500, Riccio (so-called for his curly hair) had abandoned his earlier training in favor of being a sculptor. Sculpting in bronze and terracotta, Riccio was an accomplished plaquettist as well as sculptor in the round, and architect. His contemporary fame is demonstrated for example by his documented presence in Florence in 1504, along with Leonardo da Vinci, as a member of the committee who determined the proper siting for Michelangelo's David.
The Widener example had been published by first Bode (W. Bode, The Italian Bronze Statuettes of the Renaissance, 1912, vol. 3, pl. CCLVII), then Radcliff as Paduan, circa 1530. As Radcliff points out, a depiction of a crouching warrior in almost identical stance is seen in Riccio's plaquette Battle Before the Gate of a City, three versions of which are signed by Riccio. Further support for relating this model to the oeuvre of Riccio can be found in another virtually identical figure in his relief Victory of Constantine in the Ca'd'oro, Venice (for Radcliff's in-depth discussion of this attribution to Riccio, see Sculpture from the David Daniels Collection, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 26 October 1979-13 January 1980, pp. 24-27, cat. no. 6).
Andrea Briosco, called Riccio, trained as a goldsmith following his father's profession. By 1500, Riccio (so-called for his curly hair) had abandoned his earlier training in favor of being a sculptor. Sculpting in bronze and terracotta, Riccio was an accomplished plaquettist as well as sculptor in the round, and architect. His contemporary fame is demonstrated for example by his documented presence in Florence in 1504, along with Leonardo da Vinci, as a member of the committee who determined the proper siting for Michelangelo's David.