ATTRIBUTED TO THE FLORENTINE GRAND DUCAL WORKSHOPS, AFTER GIANLORENZO BERNINI, CIRCA 1722

Details

A GREY-PAINTED PLASTER BUST OF COSTANZA BONARELLI
ATTRIBUTED TO THE FLORENTINE GRAND DUCAL WORKSHOPS, AFTER GIANLORENZO BERNINI, CIRCA 1722
Depicted facing slightly to sinister; on an integrally cast circular socle; with paper label to the reverse inscribed 'no. 22.'; surface dirt, minor chips
25½ in. (65 cm.) high, overall

Provenance

One of the 35 'casts in jess' acquired by Thomas, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, described in a letter written by Lord Parker in Florence in January 1722.
Thence by descent at Shirburn Castle.

Literature

T. P. Connor, 'The fruits of a Grand Tour - Edward Wright and Lord Parker in Italy, 1720-22', in Apollo, July 1998, pp. 23-30.

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:

R. Wittkower, Gian Lorenzo Bernini - The Sculptor of the Roman Baroque, London, 1955, p. 197, no. 35, pl. 57, fig. 38.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

This vivid portrait depicts Costanza Bonarelli, the wife of Bernini's studio hand Matteo Bonarelli, with whom the sculptor had a passionate affair. The liason was widely discussed in Roman society, and when Bernini married in 1639 he presented the bust of his mistress to Monsignor Bentivoglio. It changed hands several times and by 1645 it was in the Grand Ducal collection in Florence where it would later be seen by Parker and Wright.

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