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Lot Essay
Cleopatra, last of the Ptolomaic rulers of Egypt, was celebrated for her beauty as well as her political cunning. In the delicate balance of power between the great Mediterranean civilisations of Egypt and Rome, Cleopatra first allied herself with Julius Caesar, by whom she had a son, Ptolemy Caesarion, and after Caesar's assassination she then seduced Marc Anthony, by whom she had three more children. When Marc Anthony clashed with his fellow triumvir Octavian for ultimate control of the Roman empire, Cleopatra's fate hung in the balance. At Actium, Marc Anthony was defeated and he responded by taking his own life. Faced with the prospect of being paraded through the streets of Rome in Octavian's triumphal procession, Cleopatra famously applied a poison asp to her breast and joined Marc Anthony.
This superbly executed and enigmatic bust of the Egyptian queen has recently surfaced in a private collection in France where, for several generations at least, it was housed in a chateau in Calvados. It is obviously indebted to antique sculpture, both in the pose and in details of the carving. The slight incline of the head backwards and to one side, along with the parted, down-turned lips are a form of psychological shorthand in antique sculpture which indicated anguish, as seen in the marble group of Niobe and her youngest Daughter, in the Uffizi (for an illustration see Haskell and Penny, op. cit., fig 143). The deeply carved and individually defined tendrils of hair, particularly where they frame the face, also have parallels in antique works such as the Standing Venus in the Vatican (ibid, no. 90).
The subject matter is, of course, also from classical antiquity, and there were a number of potential sources which might have inspired the author of the present bust. Among these, it should be noted that the famous marble of the Sleeping Ariadne, on display in the Vatican Belvedere from as early as 1512, was originally considered to be an image of Cleopatra. It was instantly famous and copies and reductions were executed for courts all over Europe, including those of François I of France and Isabella d'Este (ibid, pp. 184-187). In Venice, Tullio Lombardo is thought to have restored an antique female torso in the collection of Domenico Grimani as a Cleopatra; it was on display in the Palazzo Ducale following the bequest of the Grimani collection of antiquities to the state in 1525 (Ceriana, op. cit., no. 37, pp. 190-191).
This fascination with, and re-appraisal of, antique sculpture was widespread in Italy, but it was particularly prevalent in Venice and the surrounding area, including Padua, where the university fostered a circle of intellectuals who patronised the arts. Artists such as Mantegna and Riccio were instrumental in creating a modern interpretation of antique art forms, helping to engender an appreciation of the classical world among their contemporaries.
At the forefront of this movement was also the Lombardo family of sculptors, especially the brothers Tullio and Antonio (died 1532 and 1516, respectively), and it is within the context of their work that the present bust may be examined. The Lombardo dynasty lasted for four generations, and was originally founded by Pietro, who had been drawn to Venice by the wealth of commissions available. Tullio and Antonio had active careers and became hugely influential among fellow sculptors through their participation in some of the most important sculptural complexes of their time, including the Camerino di Alabastro in Ferrara, and the St. Anthony Chapel in the Santo in Padua.
The court at Ferrara under the aegis of Alfonso d'Este, was one of the most culturally sophisticated of its day, and the Camerino di Alabastro was a room in the Este palace which was lavishly decorated in the early 16th century with marble reliefs as well as important old master paintings (for an in-depth discussion of the Camerino see Ceriana, op. cit.). Alfonso's patronage of artists such as Antonio and Giammaria Mosca for the Camerino and other projects provided work for a number of talented - and sometimes nameless - sculptors. Of the large number of marble reliefs associated with Ferrara at this time, it is interesting to note that several of them take as their subject a classical female heroine whose love remains true unto death. These include Eurydice, Dido, Lucretia, and Portia (illustrated in ibid, nos. 63, 68, 70, 71) and have been variously attributed to Antonio Lombardo and Mosca. A further relief also attributed to Mosca depicts the deaths of Marc Anthony and Cleopatra (ibid, no. 75). The relevance of the iconography of this group of reliefs for the present lot is obvious.
The second major sculptural programme mentioned above involved an ambitious plan to redecorate the St. Anthony Chapel with a cycle of monumental reliefs from the life of the patron saint whose remains were interred there. Commissioned from some of the most important sculptors of the day including the Lombardi, Sansovino and Girolamo Campagna, it would last from circa 1500 until at least 1564 and employed numerous assistants. Of the nine reliefs, two are signed by Tullio and one by Antonio. Numerous parallels may be drawn between the figures of these reliefs - particularly those of Tullio - and the present bust. In The Miracle of the Reattached Leg, executed by Tullio between 1500 and 1505, the spaghetti-like hair of the central reclining figure closely resembles the hair of the Cleopatra, and the head of the female figure, carved in shallow relief in almost the centre of the composition, shares the same central parting of the hair, low forehead, strong jaw and straight, classical nose (for illustrations of the relief see McHam, op. cit., pl. V). In The Miracle of the Miser's Heart, executed in 1520-1525 (see illustration and detail on preceding page) the same facial type appears again even more strongly on the two female figures to the far right of the composition. One sees the same general physiognomy with the relatively small almond-shaped eyes, but in these more fully-developed figures we also see the tilted head above a large, cylindrical neck, the parted lips and the elaborate plait which goes over the top of the head and trails down onto the shoulders.
Despite these close similarities, there are a number of differences in the execution of this bust which suggest that neither Tullio nor Antonio Lombardo can be the author. The first is that, without exception, the Lombardi incised the eyes of their subjects, and the eyes here have been left blank. Furthermore, the distinctive, sinuous line of the drapery as it falls across Cleopatra's torso and leaves the breast exposed, has no real counterpart in the Lombardi's oeuvre. Finally, the inclusion of the integral cartouche just below the truncation is not normally something one associates with Venetian busts carved before the 1540s.
Of the number of known artists working in the circle of the Lombardi, there are numerous parallels, but nothing which would constitute grounds for a positive attribution. A Bust of a Young Woman in Berlin attributed to Simone Bianco (Luchs, 1995, op. cit, p. 297) displays the blank eyes, tilted head, exposed breast and elaborately coiffed hair which splits into two parts and trails over the shoulders, but is manifestly by another hand. Similarly, a bust of a young woman attributed to Antonio Minello of the 1520s (ibid, figs 188-189) must also be rejected. The faces of Mosca's female figures have broader features which give an altogether softer impression.
As a result, the present bust of Cleopatra must remain, for the moment, unattributed. What is clear is that it has strong ties to the work of the Lombardo family, although it is perhaps from a later generation than the brothers Tullio and Antonio. However, due to their participation in the sculptural programmes carried out in Padua and Ferrara, the influence of the brothers was far-reaching, and it may be that the present work was executed by one of the later participants working on those same projects. What is remarkable is that a work of the calibre of the Cleopatra can remain without an author. With its high style, and its superb execution, it may be unattributed, but is nevertheless the work of a master.
This superbly executed and enigmatic bust of the Egyptian queen has recently surfaced in a private collection in France where, for several generations at least, it was housed in a chateau in Calvados. It is obviously indebted to antique sculpture, both in the pose and in details of the carving. The slight incline of the head backwards and to one side, along with the parted, down-turned lips are a form of psychological shorthand in antique sculpture which indicated anguish, as seen in the marble group of Niobe and her youngest Daughter, in the Uffizi (for an illustration see Haskell and Penny, op. cit., fig 143). The deeply carved and individually defined tendrils of hair, particularly where they frame the face, also have parallels in antique works such as the Standing Venus in the Vatican (ibid, no. 90).
The subject matter is, of course, also from classical antiquity, and there were a number of potential sources which might have inspired the author of the present bust. Among these, it should be noted that the famous marble of the Sleeping Ariadne, on display in the Vatican Belvedere from as early as 1512, was originally considered to be an image of Cleopatra. It was instantly famous and copies and reductions were executed for courts all over Europe, including those of François I of France and Isabella d'Este (ibid, pp. 184-187). In Venice, Tullio Lombardo is thought to have restored an antique female torso in the collection of Domenico Grimani as a Cleopatra; it was on display in the Palazzo Ducale following the bequest of the Grimani collection of antiquities to the state in 1525 (Ceriana, op. cit., no. 37, pp. 190-191).
This fascination with, and re-appraisal of, antique sculpture was widespread in Italy, but it was particularly prevalent in Venice and the surrounding area, including Padua, where the university fostered a circle of intellectuals who patronised the arts. Artists such as Mantegna and Riccio were instrumental in creating a modern interpretation of antique art forms, helping to engender an appreciation of the classical world among their contemporaries.
At the forefront of this movement was also the Lombardo family of sculptors, especially the brothers Tullio and Antonio (died 1532 and 1516, respectively), and it is within the context of their work that the present bust may be examined. The Lombardo dynasty lasted for four generations, and was originally founded by Pietro, who had been drawn to Venice by the wealth of commissions available. Tullio and Antonio had active careers and became hugely influential among fellow sculptors through their participation in some of the most important sculptural complexes of their time, including the Camerino di Alabastro in Ferrara, and the St. Anthony Chapel in the Santo in Padua.
The court at Ferrara under the aegis of Alfonso d'Este, was one of the most culturally sophisticated of its day, and the Camerino di Alabastro was a room in the Este palace which was lavishly decorated in the early 16th century with marble reliefs as well as important old master paintings (for an in-depth discussion of the Camerino see Ceriana, op. cit.). Alfonso's patronage of artists such as Antonio and Giammaria Mosca for the Camerino and other projects provided work for a number of talented - and sometimes nameless - sculptors. Of the large number of marble reliefs associated with Ferrara at this time, it is interesting to note that several of them take as their subject a classical female heroine whose love remains true unto death. These include Eurydice, Dido, Lucretia, and Portia (illustrated in ibid, nos. 63, 68, 70, 71) and have been variously attributed to Antonio Lombardo and Mosca. A further relief also attributed to Mosca depicts the deaths of Marc Anthony and Cleopatra (ibid, no. 75). The relevance of the iconography of this group of reliefs for the present lot is obvious.
The second major sculptural programme mentioned above involved an ambitious plan to redecorate the St. Anthony Chapel with a cycle of monumental reliefs from the life of the patron saint whose remains were interred there. Commissioned from some of the most important sculptors of the day including the Lombardi, Sansovino and Girolamo Campagna, it would last from circa 1500 until at least 1564 and employed numerous assistants. Of the nine reliefs, two are signed by Tullio and one by Antonio. Numerous parallels may be drawn between the figures of these reliefs - particularly those of Tullio - and the present bust. In The Miracle of the Reattached Leg, executed by Tullio between 1500 and 1505, the spaghetti-like hair of the central reclining figure closely resembles the hair of the Cleopatra, and the head of the female figure, carved in shallow relief in almost the centre of the composition, shares the same central parting of the hair, low forehead, strong jaw and straight, classical nose (for illustrations of the relief see McHam, op. cit., pl. V). In The Miracle of the Miser's Heart, executed in 1520-1525 (see illustration and detail on preceding page) the same facial type appears again even more strongly on the two female figures to the far right of the composition. One sees the same general physiognomy with the relatively small almond-shaped eyes, but in these more fully-developed figures we also see the tilted head above a large, cylindrical neck, the parted lips and the elaborate plait which goes over the top of the head and trails down onto the shoulders.
Despite these close similarities, there are a number of differences in the execution of this bust which suggest that neither Tullio nor Antonio Lombardo can be the author. The first is that, without exception, the Lombardi incised the eyes of their subjects, and the eyes here have been left blank. Furthermore, the distinctive, sinuous line of the drapery as it falls across Cleopatra's torso and leaves the breast exposed, has no real counterpart in the Lombardi's oeuvre. Finally, the inclusion of the integral cartouche just below the truncation is not normally something one associates with Venetian busts carved before the 1540s.
Of the number of known artists working in the circle of the Lombardi, there are numerous parallels, but nothing which would constitute grounds for a positive attribution. A Bust of a Young Woman in Berlin attributed to Simone Bianco (Luchs, 1995, op. cit, p. 297) displays the blank eyes, tilted head, exposed breast and elaborately coiffed hair which splits into two parts and trails over the shoulders, but is manifestly by another hand. Similarly, a bust of a young woman attributed to Antonio Minello of the 1520s (ibid, figs 188-189) must also be rejected. The faces of Mosca's female figures have broader features which give an altogether softer impression.
As a result, the present bust of Cleopatra must remain, for the moment, unattributed. What is clear is that it has strong ties to the work of the Lombardo family, although it is perhaps from a later generation than the brothers Tullio and Antonio. However, due to their participation in the sculptural programmes carried out in Padua and Ferrara, the influence of the brothers was far-reaching, and it may be that the present work was executed by one of the later participants working on those same projects. What is remarkable is that a work of the calibre of the Cleopatra can remain without an author. With its high style, and its superb execution, it may be unattributed, but is nevertheless the work of a master.