A BRONZE ANDIRON FIGURE OF MARS

AFTER TIZIANO ASPETTI, LATE 16TH OR EARLY 17TH CENTURY

Details

A BRONZE ANDIRON FIGURE OF MARS
AFTER TIZIANO ASPETTI, LATE 16TH OR EARLY 17TH CENTURY
On an integrally cast base. Black patina; the base drilled with a hole; minor damages.
16¾ in. (42.6 cm.) high

Literature

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
J. Pope-Hennessy and A. Radcliffe, The Frick Collection, Volume III: Sculpture, New York, 1970, pp. 183-185
H.R. Weirauch, Europäische Bronzestatuetten: 15.-18. Jahrhundert, Brunswick, 1967, pp. 158-162, figs. 191 and 196
L. Planiscig, Venezianische Bildhauer der Renaissance, Vienna, 1921, pp. 508-9, fig. 625

Lot Essay

As indicated by the loose modelling and finishing, this bronze was probably made to be used as an andiron, a theory further supported by the threaded hole at the feet of Mars. It is often seen as a pendant to a figure of Venus such as, for example, seen in the pair in the Oesterreichisches Museum in Vienna (H.R. Weirauch, loc. cit). The attribution of the model to Tiziano Aspetti is based on comparisons in style and technique with two bronze reliefs known to have been commissioned from Aspetti for the altar of Saint Daniel in the crypt of the Duomo at Padua in 1592 (J. Pope-Hennessy and A. Radcliffe, loc. cit.).

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