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Lot Essay
Francesco Fanelli, described in 1639 by Abraham van der Doort as 'the one eyed Italian', referred to himself as a Florentine but the first definite record of his activities is in Genoa in 1608. He was still in Genoa in 1630 but shortly thereafter must have moved to England as he was being paid a pension by Charles I in 1635. Fanelli seems to have specialised in small scale bronzes, particularly equestrian groups, and a number of these are recorded in the royal collection in 1639, as well as the collection of the Duke of Newcastle at Welbeck Abbey (Pope-Hennessy, loc. cit., pp. 166-167).
No other example of the present bronze group is known to date, although a very similar composition is recorded in a circular bronze relief attributed to Fanelli. An example of the relief in bronze was offered at auction (Sotheby's London, 2 November 2001, lot 76) where the catalogue entry suggested that the composition was based on Van Dyck's famous portrait of the king in the National Gallery. Although there are obvious similarities, it now seems more likely that the relief depends upon the present, three-dimensional, representation.
Although the portrait of Charles I is unknown elsewhere, the horse can be related to other models firmly attributed to Fanelli. On a slightly larger scale, a lone model of a horse was offered in these Rooms (3 July 1985, lot 119) and an equestrian group depicting the Marquis de Montada (The Cyril Humphris Collection, Sotheby's, New York, 10 January 1995, lot 61) shows the same horse again. As with the horse represented here, the right foreleg and left rear leg are raised, and the distinctive head, with its high arching neck, tilts slightly to the right. All three have the same luxuriant mane, and it is interesting to note the same unusual motif employed on both the portrait of Charles I and of Montada, where the rein actually passes under a section of the mane on the right side of the neck.
Despite the fact that he is depicted on a small scale, the present bronze is an unmistakable portrait of Fanelli's patron, Charles I. With its typical, somewhat waxy, finish, the artist has nevertheless managed to define all the plates of the suit of armour and every rivet holding them in place. The ribbon on which the king's St. George's medal is suspended is executed with remarkable delicacy, yet the overall impression is one of monumentality. Unlike the exactly contemporary equestrian portrait of the king by Hubert Le Sueur in Trafalgar Square, the present bronze is notable for its air of spontaneity.
This group is first recorded with certainty in an inventory of the collection of Nathaniel Clements, 2nd Earl of Leitrim at his house, Killadoon, in 1836, and has passed by descent to the present owner. However it is possible that the bronze first belonged to John Clotworthy (d.1665) who, as an active royalist, was made 1st Viscount Massereene at the Restoration by Charles II. Massereene's great great grand-daughter was Elizabeth Skeffington, who married Robert Clements - the man who built Killadoon - and it is possible that the bronze passed into the Clements family through this connection.
No other example of the present bronze group is known to date, although a very similar composition is recorded in a circular bronze relief attributed to Fanelli. An example of the relief in bronze was offered at auction (Sotheby's London, 2 November 2001, lot 76) where the catalogue entry suggested that the composition was based on Van Dyck's famous portrait of the king in the National Gallery. Although there are obvious similarities, it now seems more likely that the relief depends upon the present, three-dimensional, representation.
Although the portrait of Charles I is unknown elsewhere, the horse can be related to other models firmly attributed to Fanelli. On a slightly larger scale, a lone model of a horse was offered in these Rooms (3 July 1985, lot 119) and an equestrian group depicting the Marquis de Montada (The Cyril Humphris Collection, Sotheby's, New York, 10 January 1995, lot 61) shows the same horse again. As with the horse represented here, the right foreleg and left rear leg are raised, and the distinctive head, with its high arching neck, tilts slightly to the right. All three have the same luxuriant mane, and it is interesting to note the same unusual motif employed on both the portrait of Charles I and of Montada, where the rein actually passes under a section of the mane on the right side of the neck.
Despite the fact that he is depicted on a small scale, the present bronze is an unmistakable portrait of Fanelli's patron, Charles I. With its typical, somewhat waxy, finish, the artist has nevertheless managed to define all the plates of the suit of armour and every rivet holding them in place. The ribbon on which the king's St. George's medal is suspended is executed with remarkable delicacy, yet the overall impression is one of monumentality. Unlike the exactly contemporary equestrian portrait of the king by Hubert Le Sueur in Trafalgar Square, the present bronze is notable for its air of spontaneity.
This group is first recorded with certainty in an inventory of the collection of Nathaniel Clements, 2nd Earl of Leitrim at his house, Killadoon, in 1836, and has passed by descent to the present owner. However it is possible that the bronze first belonged to John Clotworthy (d.1665) who, as an active royalist, was made 1st Viscount Massereene at the Restoration by Charles II. Massereene's great great grand-daughter was Elizabeth Skeffington, who married Robert Clements - the man who built Killadoon - and it is possible that the bronze passed into the Clements family through this connection.