Lot Essay
Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi (1656-1740) was sent from his native Florence in 1677 by Grand Duke Cosimo III to study in Rome. He also studied in Paris where he made such an impression on the French court that Colbert was said to have remarked 'We do not have anyone in France who works like this Italian'. Having returned to Florence, Soldani quickly built up a reputation among English aristocrats on the Grand Tour, and he received a number of important commissions from them, including a set of six full-size bronze figures after the antique commissioned by the first Duke of Marlborough, which remain today at Blenheim Palace.
The present bronze is an unrecorded composition, but bears all the hallmarks of Soldani's delicate and beautifully finished small bronzes. It is most closely related to his Pomona and Flora, examples of which are in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Collection of the Duke of Devonshire respectively.
The present bronze is an unrecorded composition, but bears all the hallmarks of Soldani's delicate and beautifully finished small bronzes. It is most closely related to his Pomona and Flora, examples of which are in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Collection of the Duke of Devonshire respectively.