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Lot Essay
The present bronze group is one of Giambologna’s most popular compositions. Along with the group of a Lion Attacking a Horse – often cast together as pendant bronzes - they appear in Markus Zeh’s list of authentic models which he produced in 1611, three years after the sculptor’s death. The Lion Attacking a Bull is described as ‘Un gruppo d’un lione ch’uccide un toro’ (‘A group of a lion which kills a bull’; see Avery, op. cit., p. 134). There is a pair of both models signed by Antonio Susini in the Museo di Palazzo Venezia, Rome.
Like many of Giambologna’s animal compositions both groups have their origins in antique sources. The lion and horse was derived from a celebrated 3rd century BC marble group which was brought to Rome in the 16th century and was highly praised by Michelangelo. It is today in the gardens of the Palazzo dei Conservatori. The lion and bull group has less obvious direct origins but was a subject known in antique sculpture as well as on coins (see ibid, p. 60).
The present group has both an enormous sense of dynamism as well as tension. Typical of Giambologna’s mature style, the composition can be viewed from almost any angle, and interacts aggressively with the space around it. Part of this three-dimensionality is created by the sculptor’s decision to have the bull and lion set at a 90 degree angle to each other. In addition, the silhouette is made more dramatic by the head of the bull, which arches back in agony, by the looped tail, and by the fact that there is free space left beneath the bull’s body, unlike the horse and lion group where the horse’s body rests directly on a rockwork base.
The provenance of the bronze offered here is known at least as far back as the Wernher collection in London. The Wernher fortune was formed by Sir Julius Wernher (1850-1912), a German-born businessman who made his money in the diamond mines of South Africa. With his growing wealth and social advancement, Wernher entered English high society and amassed an important art collection which he kept at both his enormous country house, Luton Hoo, and his London residence, Bath House in Piccadilly. A selection of items from the Wernher Collection were auctioned to great acclaim at Christie’s in London (5 and 7 July 2000) and over 700 remaining items are currently housed at Ranger’s House, Black Heath, London.
Like many of Giambologna’s animal compositions both groups have their origins in antique sources. The lion and horse was derived from a celebrated 3rd century BC marble group which was brought to Rome in the 16th century and was highly praised by Michelangelo. It is today in the gardens of the Palazzo dei Conservatori. The lion and bull group has less obvious direct origins but was a subject known in antique sculpture as well as on coins (see ibid, p. 60).
The present group has both an enormous sense of dynamism as well as tension. Typical of Giambologna’s mature style, the composition can be viewed from almost any angle, and interacts aggressively with the space around it. Part of this three-dimensionality is created by the sculptor’s decision to have the bull and lion set at a 90 degree angle to each other. In addition, the silhouette is made more dramatic by the head of the bull, which arches back in agony, by the looped tail, and by the fact that there is free space left beneath the bull’s body, unlike the horse and lion group where the horse’s body rests directly on a rockwork base.
The provenance of the bronze offered here is known at least as far back as the Wernher collection in London. The Wernher fortune was formed by Sir Julius Wernher (1850-1912), a German-born businessman who made his money in the diamond mines of South Africa. With his growing wealth and social advancement, Wernher entered English high society and amassed an important art collection which he kept at both his enormous country house, Luton Hoo, and his London residence, Bath House in Piccadilly. A selection of items from the Wernher Collection were auctioned to great acclaim at Christie’s in London (5 and 7 July 2000) and over 700 remaining items are currently housed at Ranger’s House, Black Heath, London.