AFTER GIAMBOLOGNA (1529-1608), 17TH OR 18TH CENTURY

Details

A BRONZE FIGURE OF THE CESARINI VENUS
AFTER GIAMBOLOGNA (1529-1608), 17TH OR 18TH CENTURY
Depicted standing, drying herself, with her left foot placed on a short pedestal; on an integrally cast square plinth set into a later square bronze base inscribed in red to the underside with the inventory number '202'; all on a later square broccatellone pedestal; warm medium brown patina with traces of a darker surface; damages to pedestal
10 7/8 in. (27.6 cm.) high; 13 3/8 in. (34 cm.) high, overall

Provenance

Purchased by Alfred (1853-1906) or Otto Beit (1865-1930) between 1904 and 1913.
Thence by descent to Lady (Clementine) Beit (1915-2005) by whom donated to the Alfred Beit Foundation in 2005.

Literature

W. Bode, Catalogue of the Collection of Pictures and Bronzes in the Possession of Mr. Otto Beit, London, 1913, p. 106, no. 202, as 'Gian Bologna'.
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
C. Avery, Giambologna - The Complete Sculpture, Oxford, 1987, pp. 106, 105, 134, 135, 254, 259, nos. 14, 52, figs. 101, 134.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The present bronze model is one of Giambologna's most celebrated compositions. It is closely related to a near life-size marble figure that the artist carved for Giovanni Giorgio Cesarini - from whom the model now derives its name - in 1583. Forty years later, in 1623, the marble was given to Cardinal Ludovisi, and it remains in situ in the former Ludovisi Palace in Rome, today the American Embassy. The complex pose combined with a sinuous female elegance ensured that the composition would be re-cast and re-interpreted from the time of its creation to the present day.

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