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Lot Essay
Although somewhat gruesome in detail, the subject of the Flaying of Marsyas was popular because it allowed the artist to depict the contrasting figures of the beautiful and cerebral Apollo with the bestial satyr Marsyas. Here, Marsyas struggles against the ropes that bind him while Apollo stands in a dance-like pose, inflicting his revenge. The group shows many stylistic affinities with the work of Antonio Bonazza (died circa 1762), a member of a prolific family of sculptors active in the Veneto in the 18th century (Semenzato, loc. cit.).
The marble is said to have come from the collection of the Counts of Martinengo-Cesaresco and may be the subject of a reference by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu in 1750. In a letter to the Countess of Bute written on 17 October of that year, she describes her visit to the Martinengo palace at Salò, on Lake Garda. She relates that, although the present owner has gambled away most of his fortune and the house has been stripped of many of its historic contents, the grounds are still spectacularly beautiful. Significantly, she refers to three colossal statues higher on the hill of 'Venus, Hercules and Apollo'. Although failing to mention the presence of Marsyas, it seems likely that this latter marble in Lady Mary's letter is the present group.
Writing about the Professor's collecting of statuary for the garden of Avenue House, Simon Houfe recounted 'the finest acquisition was a large Italian baroque group of Apollo flaying Marysas, an unpleasant subject, but large and grand and worthy of any Renaissance garden. This he placed directly below the big cedar and facing the avenue, so that a promenade on the raised walk could admire it from a good height.' (S. Houfe, Sir Albert Richardson, The Professor, Luton, 1980, p. 217).
The marble is said to have come from the collection of the Counts of Martinengo-Cesaresco and may be the subject of a reference by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu in 1750. In a letter to the Countess of Bute written on 17 October of that year, she describes her visit to the Martinengo palace at Salò, on Lake Garda. She relates that, although the present owner has gambled away most of his fortune and the house has been stripped of many of its historic contents, the grounds are still spectacularly beautiful. Significantly, she refers to three colossal statues higher on the hill of 'Venus, Hercules and Apollo'. Although failing to mention the presence of Marsyas, it seems likely that this latter marble in Lady Mary's letter is the present group.
Writing about the Professor's collecting of statuary for the garden of Avenue House, Simon Houfe recounted 'the finest acquisition was a large Italian baroque group of Apollo flaying Marysas, an unpleasant subject, but large and grand and worthy of any Renaissance garden. This he placed directly below the big cedar and facing the avenue, so that a promenade on the raised walk could admire it from a good height.' (S. Houfe, Sir Albert Richardson, The Professor, Luton, 1980, p. 217).