Lot Essay
Pietro Tacca (1577-1640) was one of the most gifted of all Giambologna's pupils and followers active in the Grand Ducal workshop in Borgo Pinti in Florence. In particular, he developed a model of a rearing horse with rider, firstly in connection with a project for a monumental equestrian statue of Louis XIII, who came to the throne in 1610 after the assassination of his father, Henri IV. This model is known in two versions, one of which is riderless, but they were made in such a way that the figure of the King could fit on both. Both are in the Bargello in Florence, (Watson, op.cit.pls.67-61).
A second, signed model shows Carlo Emanuele, Duke of Savoy, and is in Kassel (Avery and Redcliffe, loc. cit.) It relates to another abortive commission for a monumental equestrian group, in this instance for Turin. The model reached Turin in 1519, and was then cast in bronze in 1621, at which point the Duke wrote to Tacca to thank him for it. In this case too, there appears to have been a 'spare' horse which is now in Berlin (H.R. Weihrauch, Europäische Bronzestatuetten, Braunschweig, 1967, p1.281). The principal difference between this horse and that of Louis XIII is that its mane hangs down on both sides of the neck, not just to the left, and its harness is exquisitely chased, while that in the Bargello is left plain, perhaps because it was never delivered to the young patron. The present horse and rider's armoured body is a significant addition to the oeuvre of Pietro Tacca, being the fifth known cast of a large corvetting horse.
It was standard practice in the Borgo Pinti workshop, as elsewhere, for the heads of equestrian portraits to be cast separately, so as to be interchangeable. The head of the present group is a later substitution, for it has the features of Tsar Peter the Great of Russia. It may be suggested that the present head, which is a proper portrait in its own right, is the work of Peter's court sculptor Rastrelli, who produced a number of monumental portraits of him in wax and bronze.
It is also interesting to compare this bronze with the 17th-century engraving of Peter the Great similarly armoured and mounted. This engraving is after that depicting Johan Arnold Holstein. According to D.A. Rovinskii, Dictionary of Russian Engraved Portraits (St. Petersburg 1889), vol.II p.1377, no.311, the face on the original plate has been overengraved with Peter the Great. The two original coats-of-arms in the upper corners have also been erased. See also A.V. Morozov, Catalogue of my Collection of Russian engraved and lithographed Portraits (Moscow: 1913), vol.III, p.889, no.239, illustrated plate 335.
A second, signed model shows Carlo Emanuele, Duke of Savoy, and is in Kassel (Avery and Redcliffe, loc. cit.) It relates to another abortive commission for a monumental equestrian group, in this instance for Turin. The model reached Turin in 1519, and was then cast in bronze in 1621, at which point the Duke wrote to Tacca to thank him for it. In this case too, there appears to have been a 'spare' horse which is now in Berlin (H.R. Weihrauch, Europäische Bronzestatuetten, Braunschweig, 1967, p1.281). The principal difference between this horse and that of Louis XIII is that its mane hangs down on both sides of the neck, not just to the left, and its harness is exquisitely chased, while that in the Bargello is left plain, perhaps because it was never delivered to the young patron. The present horse and rider's armoured body is a significant addition to the oeuvre of Pietro Tacca, being the fifth known cast of a large corvetting horse.
It was standard practice in the Borgo Pinti workshop, as elsewhere, for the heads of equestrian portraits to be cast separately, so as to be interchangeable. The head of the present group is a later substitution, for it has the features of Tsar Peter the Great of Russia. It may be suggested that the present head, which is a proper portrait in its own right, is the work of Peter's court sculptor Rastrelli, who produced a number of monumental portraits of him in wax and bronze.
It is also interesting to compare this bronze with the 17th-century engraving of Peter the Great similarly armoured and mounted. This engraving is after that depicting Johan Arnold Holstein. According to D.A. Rovinskii, Dictionary of Russian Engraved Portraits (St. Petersburg 1889), vol.II p.1377, no.311, the face on the original plate has been overengraved with Peter the Great. The two original coats-of-arms in the upper corners have also been erased. See also A.V. Morozov, Catalogue of my Collection of Russian engraved and lithographed Portraits (Moscow: 1913), vol.III, p.889, no.239, illustrated plate 335.