Lot Essay
Massimiliano Soldani Benzi, who was without question the most gifted Florentine sculptor of the baroque period, and the greatest Italian maker of bronzes of the age, enjoyed a considerable international reputation. He produced large-scale bronzes for the first Duke of Marlborough, which are still in situ at Blenheim, and two spectacular tombs for Grand Masters of the Order of St. John in the Cathedral at La Valletta, Malta. Arguably his most fruitful relationship with a patron, which is recorded in a fascinating correspondence stretching from 1694 to 1709, was with Johann Adam Andreas, Prinz von Liechtenstein.
The idea of making bronzes after putti by Algardi or Fiammingo (François Duquesnoy) was mooted by Soldani as early as 1694/5 (Lankheit, op. cit., p. 327), but nothing was achieved until over a decade later. Soldani wrote to the Prince on 5 February 1707 concerning three models of putti: 'Mi trovo le forme fatte sopra alcuni Putti originali del fiammingo, e dell'Algardi, d'altezza di due palmi l'uno, chi siede, chi vola, e chi in atto di tirare l'arco.' ('I have made models of some putti by Fiammingo and Algardi, which are two palmi [about 45 cm.] high. One is seated, one is flying, and the third is drawing his bow.', Lankheit, op. cit., p. 337).
The only other published example of the present bronze, which appears to have been in the Liechtenstein collection (Laing, loc. cit., Pratesi, loc. cit.), has been associated with a reference to 'Due Fanciulli di bronzo' under nos. 86 and 87 in the first complete inventory of the collection, which dates from 1767. These 'boys in bronze' were mounted on wooden bases with floral mounts of a sort also found on a base for another Soldani bronze in the collection.
Many, although not all, of Soldani's commissions for Prince Johann Adam consisted of versions of earlier works of art, whether after the antique or after works by modern masters. This putto does not correspond with any known Cupid by Algardi or Duquesnoy, although it is loosely inspired by their work and especially by the latter. Its style is perfectly consistent with the work of Soldani, however, and it is tempting to wonder whether - in an age which valued the great names of the past more highly than the creative inspiration of the present - he was not simply indulging in an innocent deception in arrogating an illustrious name to his own original invention.
It would appear, therefore, that the present model is another version of the 'Cupid drawing his bow' discussed in the Liechtenstein correspondence, and its details and facture are in essence indistinguishable from the ex-Liechtenstein bronze. Given its provenance from an English country house, it may have been sent by Soldani to one of his English patrons, and remained here.
It has not proved possible to ascertain when the Cupid reached Newby, but is most likely to have been acquired either by William Weddell, who returned from the grand tour in 1766, laden with spectacular Gobelins tapestries and classical marbles, or his cousin the 3rd Lord Grantham, later 1st Earl de Grey, who collected some superb pieces of French furniture in the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo.
The idea of making bronzes after putti by Algardi or Fiammingo (François Duquesnoy) was mooted by Soldani as early as 1694/5 (Lankheit, op. cit., p. 327), but nothing was achieved until over a decade later. Soldani wrote to the Prince on 5 February 1707 concerning three models of putti: 'Mi trovo le forme fatte sopra alcuni Putti originali del fiammingo, e dell'Algardi, d'altezza di due palmi l'uno, chi siede, chi vola, e chi in atto di tirare l'arco.' ('I have made models of some putti by Fiammingo and Algardi, which are two palmi [about 45 cm.] high. One is seated, one is flying, and the third is drawing his bow.', Lankheit, op. cit., p. 337).
The only other published example of the present bronze, which appears to have been in the Liechtenstein collection (Laing, loc. cit., Pratesi, loc. cit.), has been associated with a reference to 'Due Fanciulli di bronzo' under nos. 86 and 87 in the first complete inventory of the collection, which dates from 1767. These 'boys in bronze' were mounted on wooden bases with floral mounts of a sort also found on a base for another Soldani bronze in the collection.
Many, although not all, of Soldani's commissions for Prince Johann Adam consisted of versions of earlier works of art, whether after the antique or after works by modern masters. This putto does not correspond with any known Cupid by Algardi or Duquesnoy, although it is loosely inspired by their work and especially by the latter. Its style is perfectly consistent with the work of Soldani, however, and it is tempting to wonder whether - in an age which valued the great names of the past more highly than the creative inspiration of the present - he was not simply indulging in an innocent deception in arrogating an illustrious name to his own original invention.
It would appear, therefore, that the present model is another version of the 'Cupid drawing his bow' discussed in the Liechtenstein correspondence, and its details and facture are in essence indistinguishable from the ex-Liechtenstein bronze. Given its provenance from an English country house, it may have been sent by Soldani to one of his English patrons, and remained here.
It has not proved possible to ascertain when the Cupid reached Newby, but is most likely to have been acquired either by William Weddell, who returned from the grand tour in 1766, laden with spectacular Gobelins tapestries and classical marbles, or his cousin the 3rd Lord Grantham, later 1st Earl de Grey, who collected some superb pieces of French furniture in the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo.