Studio of Agnolo Bronzino (Agniolo di Cosimo di Mariano Tori) (Florence 1503-1572)

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FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE DUKES OF ANHALT (Lot 80) The Princely and Ducal family of Anhalt (the so-called Askanier) was among the oldest and most important of the former reigning families in Germany. From the early Middle Ages until 1918, the heads of different branches of the dynasty were the sovereigns of the Duchy of Anhalt, which had been reunited in 1863 and later became in part today's federal state of Sachsen-Anhalt. Over several centuries, they influenced the political, economic and cultural history of Germany, not to say of Europe by virtue of marriages to other noble families. But their influence is most apparent in Sachsen-Anhalt itself, and in the towns of Ballenstedt, Bernburg, Dessau, Köthen, Mosigkau, Wörlitz and Zerbst. The famous "English park" at Wörlitz, created by Prince Leopold III Friedrich Franz von Anhalt-Dessau (1740-1817), has now been proposed as one of the World Heritage Sites listed by UNESCO. Many members of the family played roles of international importance in European history, for example Prince Leopold I von Anhalt-Dessau (1674-1747), the famous military commander of the Prussian royal army, nicknamed the 'Alter Dessauer'. By the time of his death the family had produced its most famous scion, Princess Sofie Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst (1729-1796), who was to become the Empress Catherine the Great of Russia. After 1918, the Duchy retained considerable estates as well as a large part of the family collections that they had assembled over the centuries - over 3,000 paintings alone were catalogued at the time. Besides these, the collections comprised prints, furniture, glass, porcelain, precious objects and works of art. Duke Joachim Ernst von Anhalt (1901-1947) for the most part kept the vast and important art collections in the castles at Dessau and Ballenstedt, although many objects were lent to public museums, such as his own Joachim-Ernst-Foundation in Wörlitz. The last reigning Duke and sole owner of the Askanian heritage, Joachim Ernst von Anhalt, was an outspoken opponent of the National Socialist regime, and consequently was sentenced to forced labour in the Dessau armaments industry during the Second World War. In 1944, he was sent as a prisoner to Dachau concentration camp where he remained for several months. In spite of his anti-fascism, he was subsequently arrested by the Soviet Secret Service in August 1945, and finally brought to the Special Camp 2 in the former concentration camp at Buchenwald. He died there on 18 February 1947. Officers of the Red Army helped his wife and five children to flee to the Western occupied zone. War losses, looting and the dispossession of the Duchy's assets in the Soviet occupied zone, which later became the German Democratic Republic, reduced and dispersed the collections considerably. In 1992 and 1994 the Russian Chief State Prosecution rehabilitated the Duke posthumously, as well as his three surviving children, and declared them to have been victims of political persecution. This rehabilitation had the express purpose of reinstating the rights of the Duke's heirs in Germany. So far, only a small part of these rights have been exercised, although the family's researches into the whereabouts of the collections has led to the identification and restitution of several works of art, amongst them the present picture. The three children and heirs of the Duke have now returned to Ballenstedt. Following their long family tradition, they are again active in the economic and cultural life of Sachsen-Anhalt. This activity will be supported and strengthened through this sale at auction.

Studio of Agnolo Bronzino (Agniolo di Cosimo di Mariano Tori) (Florence 1503-1572)

Portrait of Duke Cosimo I de' Medici, bust-length, in full armour, his right hand resting on his helmet

Details

Studio of Agnolo Bronzino (Agniolo di Cosimo di Mariano Tori) (Florence 1503-1572)
Portrait of Duke Cosimo I de' Medici, bust-length, in full armour, his right hand resting on his helmet
oil on panel, unframed
28¾ x 23 in. (73 x 58.5 cm.)

Provenance

Believed to have been for two or three centuries in the Anhalt Ducal collections; recorded at Schloß Ballenstedt, circa 1930.
Confiscated after the 8 May 1945 and taken to the Moritzburg, Halle.
Deposited at the Museum at Castle Wernigerode, from whom restituted to the heirs of Duke Joachim Ernst von Anhalt, July 2000.

Literature

Herzogliche Katalog (mss. catalogue, circa 1930s), no. 3637, as of Sigismund Bathory, Prince of Siebenbürgen (reg. 1581-1599) by an unknown artist.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Sale room notice

Differing opinions have been given about the status of this hitherto unpublished painting. On the basis of photographs, Professor Janet Cox-Rearick does not believe the picture to be autograph. However after examining the picture in the original, Philippe Costamagna believes this to be a studio work, Robert Simon believes that the face and hand are quite possibly by Bronzino himself, with the armour being executed by the studio, and Everett Fahy believes it to be an autograph replica.

The metal casing referred to in the catalogue note has been removed; and the support is bevelled on all sides. The picture is sold framed.

The estimate should read £100,000-150,000.

Lot Essay

Cosimo I de' Medici (1519-1574), a great-grandson of Lorenzo the Magnificent, became Duke of Florence in 1537 and Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1569.

This, previously unrecorded and presumably workshop version of Bronzino's prototype of the same format in the Tribuna of the Uffizi, has a distinctive merit and impact. It is not a slavish copy as the fall of the curtain is arguably closer to the three-quarter-length picture sent to Paolo Giovio in 1546 (see R. Simon, 'Bronzino's Portrait of Cosimo I', The Burlington Magazine, CXXV, September 1983, pp. 527-39 and "Blessed be the hand of Bronzino", the portrait of Cosimo I in armour', The Burlington Magazine, CXXIX, June 1987, pp. 387-8). Simon lists twenty-eight versions, including the two he accepts as autograph cited above. The demand for such portraits was met both in Bronzino's own studio and by independent artists. Some show Cosimo with the Order of the Golden Fleece, which he was awarded in July 1545, but this does not necessarily establish a terminus ante quem for portraits which, like this example, omit the Order.

The bevelling at the top and bottom of the support was presumably carried out when the picture was fitted into its metal casing in the not too distant past.

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