Lot Essay
This statuette is derived from a prototype by the Florentine sculptor Baccio Bandinelli, of which there is an example in the Bargello. It
belongs to a series of six bronzes of classical and mythological
figures which, according to Vasari, were produced around 1529 in Rome
when Bandinelli was working for Clement VII. The models may indeed
date from this time, but it has been shown that the Cleopatra was
not cast until 1544, and the Hercules five years later. The
earliest record of a set of all six is not until 1553.
It is not clear exactly how Bandinelli's model came to be known in
Venice, but it is generally agreed that examples such as the present
bronze were cast in the workshop of Severo da Ravenna after the
master's death. Other examples of the Cleopatra are in the
Ashmolean Museum (Penny, loc. cit.), the Abbott Guggenheim Collection (Camins, loc. cit.) and elsewhere. They all reveal minor differences, especially in the disposition of the serpent.
belongs to a series of six bronzes of classical and mythological
figures which, according to Vasari, were produced around 1529 in Rome
when Bandinelli was working for Clement VII. The models may indeed
date from this time, but it has been shown that the Cleopatra was
not cast until 1544, and the Hercules five years later. The
earliest record of a set of all six is not until 1553.
It is not clear exactly how Bandinelli's model came to be known in
Venice, but it is generally agreed that examples such as the present
bronze were cast in the workshop of Severo da Ravenna after the
master's death. Other examples of the Cleopatra are in the
Ashmolean Museum (Penny, loc. cit.), the Abbott Guggenheim Collection (Camins, loc. cit.) and elsewhere. They all reveal minor differences, especially in the disposition of the serpent.