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拍品專文
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
W. Bode, Bronzes of the Renaissance and Subsequent periods in the Collection of J. Pierpont Morgan, Paris, 1910, p. xixf, no. 7.
R. Stone, 'Antico and the Development of Bronze Casting in Italy at the end of the Quattrocento', Metropolitan Museum of Art Journal, vol. 16, 1981.
J. Martineau, ed., Splendours of the Gonzaga, exh. cat., London, 1981.
A. Radcliffe, 'Antico and the Mantuan Bronze' in the exh. cat. Splendours of the Gonzaga, London, 1981, no 53.
A.H. Allison, 'The Bronzes of Pier Jacopo Alari-Bonacolsi, called Antico', Jahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen Sammlungen in Wien, vol. 89 90, 1993 1994, pp. 35-310.
D. Pincus, ed., 'Small Bronzes in the Renaissance: Symposium Papers XXXIX', Studies in the History of Art, vol. 62, Washington, 2001 (without the paper by Allison).
ANTICO AND THE GONZAGA: THE HERCULES GROUP
There are four other examples of Antico's Hercules, the present example being the only one outside of a public collection. The others are in the Frick Collection, New York, the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, the Museo Arqueologico Nacional, Madrid and the fourth is in the Louvre. There are differences between them all in both the modeling and finishing of the bronzes, as well as to the gilding. Additionally, there has been considerable discussion about the order in which they were produced and to what extent Antico was involved in each.
This model of Hercules has long been attributed to Antico, first by Bode, as early as 1910 (see Bode, op. cit., p. xixf). And it is also clear from Sylvia Adams' correspondence with Colonel Boscawen that the London dealer had certainly come to the same conclusion in 1949 when she sold it to Boscawen (see below). The four versions of Hercules in public collections were discussed extensively by Allison (op. cit, pp. 68-69 and 151-161), but the Boscawen version was unknown to her in 1993. Since then, however, as Paillat has summarized, Allison discussed the Boscawen Hercules at a 1998 symposium at the National Gallery, Washington (op. cit., p. 4). And this attribution was confirmed by both Anthony Radcliffe and Bertrand Jestaz (oral testimony in March 2002 and April 2003, respectively).
As the Boscawen Hercules was examined, it became increasingly clear that it was among the finest of his versions and can be most closely linked to the Frick version. In addition, and again, as summarized by Paillat, the scientific examination carried out by the Laboratoire des Musées de France confirms that the Frick Hercules and the Boscawen Hercules are of comparable size as well as having been cast in an identical manner as can be seen in the radiographs (ibid., p. 4 and Stone, op. cit., fig. 11). As Stone has discussed extensively, the bronzes were usually not cast by Antico himself, in particular, a 'Maestro Johan', who is mentioned in Antico's correspondence with Isabella d'Este, seems to have helped. And it also seems to have varied as to how much of the chasing and finishing Antico was responsible for. As the Bishop Ludovico Gonzaga pointed out with pride to Isabella d'Este in 1504, Antico had personally executed both the casting and finishing of the Saint John the Baptist they were both anxiously awaiting (Allison, op. cit, 1993, p. 41).
However, it is not only the casting process that ties the present version closely to that in the Frick, but the inclusion of the silver inlay for the eyes, the extreme attention to detail and precision in the finishing of the details - most spectacularly the chasing on the lion's pelt - and the mercury gilding on the hair and lion skin. While it is unusual that the beard of Hercules is not gilded, the hair and lion's pelt both retain traces of the original mercury gilding and together with the silver-inlaid eyes, all indicate a date in the early 16th century. As Avery has discussed, in the last two decades of Antico's work up until 1519, mercury gilding was abandoned in favor of oil gilding and he no longer silvered his later bronzes (op. cit., 2004, p. 110). Allison compares the Frick Hercules to two other of Antico's most sumptuous bronzes that she considers close to the Frick bronze, and both with silvered eyes and well-preserved areas of gilding, the Ca d'Oro Apollo and the Victorian and Albert Meleager (op. cit., pp. 111 and 167). So, as the present version can be compared most closely to the Frick Hercules, it can also be dated accordingly, almost certainly having been produced between 1499 and 1501.
As the most important sculptor working in Mantua, during the late 15th and first two decades of the 16th century, Antico was intimately connected to the Gonzaga family and their collections. His bronzes were eagerly sought after and anticipated by various members of the Gonzaga - there was even one attempt of bribery when Bishop Ludovico offered a ring to Antico's wife as an inducement for Antico to speed up finishing his Hercules (Allison, op. cit., p. 40). Not only was he one of the most important suppliers of contemporary art to the Gonzaga, he advised them on their equally avid pursuit of Antique sculpture, in particular, he advised Isabella d'Este on her acquisitions. Despite his close knowledge of the sculpture of Antiquity or, more likely because of his familiarity with so much of the visual vocabulary of the Antique, Antico seems not to have modeled Hercules after a known Antique prototype. But instead, he created an original and sophisticated composition.
Perhaps since Hercules was a symbol so rich in princely imagery, it appears that all three of Antico's principal patrons owned versions of this particular model of Hercules. They were Count Gianfrancesco Gonzaga (1443-1496), his brother Bishop Ludovico Gonzaga (d. 1511), and Isabella d'Este (1474-1539), wife of the Marchese Francesco II Gonzaga (d. 1519). This version of the aged hero, perhaps, represents exactly the image the Gonzaga would have wanted to project at the turn of the century, that of an old, wise and immortal hero, who by stint of his labors has achieved final peace (Allison, op. cit., p. 69). As has been often discussed, the Gonzaga were a relatively new family, having gained supremacy in Mantua only in the early 14th century after a military coup. Their finances were also modest compared to other princely families in Italy, and it was perhaps because of this rather tenuous position that they emphasized their cultural pretentions, and did their utmost to impress others with the intellectuality of their court and the extent of their artistic patronage (Martineau, op. cit., pp. XVII-XVIII).
As discussed above, it is probable that either the present Hercules, or the Frick version, were commissioned by Bishop Ludovico Gonzaga, one of Antico's most ardent supporters between 1499 and 1501.
The Madrid Hercules has been proposed by Radcliffe to be the one made for Gianfrancesco Gonzaga (Radcliffe, op. cit., 1981, no 53). However, Allison considers it to be a posthumous production of Antico's workshop and considerably later, dating from the second quarter of the 16th century (Allison, op. cit., p. 159).
The Vienna Hercules, which by 1659 was already in the collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, was probably made for Isabella d'Este circa 1519-20 from an earlier model created for Bishop Ludovico Gonzaga (Allison, op. cit., pp. 69 and 155).
And although Allison has proposed that the Paris version is an early prototype of this series, the relatively rough and unfinished appearance suggests it was perhaps a later after-cast (ibid., p. 161 and Paillat, op. cit., p. 6).
COLONEL BOSCAWEN AND SYLVIA ADAMS
'What would be the price of the Hercules alone? You will appreciate that in these days of economic uncertainty one must be careful'
So Colonel Boscawen wrote to the London dealer Sylvia Adams, on May 27th, 1949. Adams replied: 'I am afraid the very lowest I can take for the Hercules is £1550' (Avery, op. cit., 2002, p. 110, note 17). In the end Boscawen rose to the occasion, and Antico's Hercules joined the storied collection at Moa, his vast sisal estate in remote north-east Tanganyika (now Tanzania).
The Lieutenant Colonel the Hon. Mildmay Thomas Boscawen (1892-1958) formed one of the most important collections of European bronzes in the 20th century. It is even more impressive that this was done from a distance of thousands of miles from the dealers and salerooms of Europe and the United States. Boscawen, as the fourth son of Major General Sir Evelyn Edward Thomas Boscawen, the 7th Viscount Falmouth, had little prospects of inheriting in England so, after his service in World War I, he moved to Africa. Boscawen began farming in Tanganyika in the 1920s and eventually by the late 1940s his estates covered about 85,000 acres. Collecting slowly at first, due to his precarious economic situation and then, as his estates started to produce increasing income, Boscawen gradually augmented his collection. Bronzes were safe for him to assemble in Africa as they could survive the arduous journey to Moa and once installed, were largely impervious to the heat and humidity of the climate. As Avery has discussed, it was primarily the dealers, and in particular C.G. Copper, Alfred Spero and Sylvia Adams, that helped Boscawen, all within fifteen years, build up such a spectacular collection. Indeed in 1951, Carl Winter, then Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum wrote to Boscawen commenting 'I am aware of your interest in bronzes every time there is an important sale or a beautiful example turns up, for one of our friends in the trade is bound to say "this is reserved for a certain gentleman"' (ibid., pp. 30 and 36).
His correspondence, with Adams in particular, was long and colorful. In addition to the bargaining back-and-forth mentioned above, the Hercules was discussed further in their correspondence of 1949 (ibid, p. 110, note 17). Adams described Antico's bronze as follows:
'I am enclosing photographs of the important little collection of 15th century bronzes. The Hercules is by Antico and it is the most outstanding example. It is sharp and crisp and the owner declared that it was finer than the one in the Vienna Museum. This is at present on Exhibition at the Tate Gallery (Art Treasures from Vienna) and we saw this yesterday and sincerely agree that the enclosed is much finer. The drapery is gilded, as it should be, but needs cleaning. Apart from the drapery, the entire color of the remaining bronze is lovely. As you will see from the photograph, this is a powerful and majestic bronze... Tip of the right thumb and club missing.'
It appears Boscawen, probably due to the combination of his reduced income - even as he continued to make substantial donations to African charities - a lack of space and increasingly ill health that he had stopped buying by 1952 (ibid., p. 37). He died in London in 1958, leaving most of the collection to his sister, the Hon. Mrs. Pamela Sherek of Geneva and, upon her death, they were then bequeathed in Boscawen's memory to the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. The Fitzwilliam now holds fifty-five of Boscawen's bronzes. Two of the most important bronzes in his collection, however, and both by Antico, are no longer part of this group. The first of these, sold by the Fitzwilliam to pay estate taxes and now in a private collection, is the Apollo Belvedere. The other is the present Hercules.
It is not certain when the Hercules left Boscawen's collection and was sold back to Sylvia Adams. But Boscawen, as well as his sister, as Avery has discussed, was certainly able to de-accession at times, selling to raise cash or credit with a dealer for another purchase (ibid., 2004, pp. 88-90).
While the precise dating and exact provenances of these bronzes have been debated for decades, their quality is incontestable. Hercules, with his silver-inlaid eyes and the dramatic contrast of the rich patina and mercury-gilt hair and lion skin - combined with its original modeling and meticulous chasing - remains as dazzling to the modern viewer as it would have been to the princes and princesses of the Renaissance.
W. Bode, Bronzes of the Renaissance and Subsequent periods in the Collection of J. Pierpont Morgan, Paris, 1910, p. xixf, no. 7.
R. Stone, 'Antico and the Development of Bronze Casting in Italy at the end of the Quattrocento', Metropolitan Museum of Art Journal, vol. 16, 1981.
J. Martineau, ed., Splendours of the Gonzaga, exh. cat., London, 1981.
A. Radcliffe, 'Antico and the Mantuan Bronze' in the exh. cat. Splendours of the Gonzaga, London, 1981, no 53.
A.H. Allison, 'The Bronzes of Pier Jacopo Alari-Bonacolsi, called Antico', Jahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen Sammlungen in Wien, vol. 89 90, 1993 1994, pp. 35-310.
D. Pincus, ed., 'Small Bronzes in the Renaissance: Symposium Papers XXXIX', Studies in the History of Art, vol. 62, Washington, 2001 (without the paper by Allison).
ANTICO AND THE GONZAGA: THE HERCULES GROUP
There are four other examples of Antico's Hercules, the present example being the only one outside of a public collection. The others are in the Frick Collection, New York, the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, the Museo Arqueologico Nacional, Madrid and the fourth is in the Louvre. There are differences between them all in both the modeling and finishing of the bronzes, as well as to the gilding. Additionally, there has been considerable discussion about the order in which they were produced and to what extent Antico was involved in each.
This model of Hercules has long been attributed to Antico, first by Bode, as early as 1910 (see Bode, op. cit., p. xixf). And it is also clear from Sylvia Adams' correspondence with Colonel Boscawen that the London dealer had certainly come to the same conclusion in 1949 when she sold it to Boscawen (see below). The four versions of Hercules in public collections were discussed extensively by Allison (op. cit, pp. 68-69 and 151-161), but the Boscawen version was unknown to her in 1993. Since then, however, as Paillat has summarized, Allison discussed the Boscawen Hercules at a 1998 symposium at the National Gallery, Washington (op. cit., p. 4). And this attribution was confirmed by both Anthony Radcliffe and Bertrand Jestaz (oral testimony in March 2002 and April 2003, respectively).
As the Boscawen Hercules was examined, it became increasingly clear that it was among the finest of his versions and can be most closely linked to the Frick version. In addition, and again, as summarized by Paillat, the scientific examination carried out by the Laboratoire des Musées de France confirms that the Frick Hercules and the Boscawen Hercules are of comparable size as well as having been cast in an identical manner as can be seen in the radiographs (ibid., p. 4 and Stone, op. cit., fig. 11). As Stone has discussed extensively, the bronzes were usually not cast by Antico himself, in particular, a 'Maestro Johan', who is mentioned in Antico's correspondence with Isabella d'Este, seems to have helped. And it also seems to have varied as to how much of the chasing and finishing Antico was responsible for. As the Bishop Ludovico Gonzaga pointed out with pride to Isabella d'Este in 1504, Antico had personally executed both the casting and finishing of the Saint John the Baptist they were both anxiously awaiting (Allison, op. cit, 1993, p. 41).
However, it is not only the casting process that ties the present version closely to that in the Frick, but the inclusion of the silver inlay for the eyes, the extreme attention to detail and precision in the finishing of the details - most spectacularly the chasing on the lion's pelt - and the mercury gilding on the hair and lion skin. While it is unusual that the beard of Hercules is not gilded, the hair and lion's pelt both retain traces of the original mercury gilding and together with the silver-inlaid eyes, all indicate a date in the early 16th century. As Avery has discussed, in the last two decades of Antico's work up until 1519, mercury gilding was abandoned in favor of oil gilding and he no longer silvered his later bronzes (op. cit., 2004, p. 110). Allison compares the Frick Hercules to two other of Antico's most sumptuous bronzes that she considers close to the Frick bronze, and both with silvered eyes and well-preserved areas of gilding, the Ca d'Oro Apollo and the Victorian and Albert Meleager (op. cit., pp. 111 and 167). So, as the present version can be compared most closely to the Frick Hercules, it can also be dated accordingly, almost certainly having been produced between 1499 and 1501.
As the most important sculptor working in Mantua, during the late 15th and first two decades of the 16th century, Antico was intimately connected to the Gonzaga family and their collections. His bronzes were eagerly sought after and anticipated by various members of the Gonzaga - there was even one attempt of bribery when Bishop Ludovico offered a ring to Antico's wife as an inducement for Antico to speed up finishing his Hercules (Allison, op. cit., p. 40). Not only was he one of the most important suppliers of contemporary art to the Gonzaga, he advised them on their equally avid pursuit of Antique sculpture, in particular, he advised Isabella d'Este on her acquisitions. Despite his close knowledge of the sculpture of Antiquity or, more likely because of his familiarity with so much of the visual vocabulary of the Antique, Antico seems not to have modeled Hercules after a known Antique prototype. But instead, he created an original and sophisticated composition.
Perhaps since Hercules was a symbol so rich in princely imagery, it appears that all three of Antico's principal patrons owned versions of this particular model of Hercules. They were Count Gianfrancesco Gonzaga (1443-1496), his brother Bishop Ludovico Gonzaga (d. 1511), and Isabella d'Este (1474-1539), wife of the Marchese Francesco II Gonzaga (d. 1519). This version of the aged hero, perhaps, represents exactly the image the Gonzaga would have wanted to project at the turn of the century, that of an old, wise and immortal hero, who by stint of his labors has achieved final peace (Allison, op. cit., p. 69). As has been often discussed, the Gonzaga were a relatively new family, having gained supremacy in Mantua only in the early 14th century after a military coup. Their finances were also modest compared to other princely families in Italy, and it was perhaps because of this rather tenuous position that they emphasized their cultural pretentions, and did their utmost to impress others with the intellectuality of their court and the extent of their artistic patronage (Martineau, op. cit., pp. XVII-XVIII).
As discussed above, it is probable that either the present Hercules, or the Frick version, were commissioned by Bishop Ludovico Gonzaga, one of Antico's most ardent supporters between 1499 and 1501.
The Madrid Hercules has been proposed by Radcliffe to be the one made for Gianfrancesco Gonzaga (Radcliffe, op. cit., 1981, no 53). However, Allison considers it to be a posthumous production of Antico's workshop and considerably later, dating from the second quarter of the 16th century (Allison, op. cit., p. 159).
The Vienna Hercules, which by 1659 was already in the collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, was probably made for Isabella d'Este circa 1519-20 from an earlier model created for Bishop Ludovico Gonzaga (Allison, op. cit., pp. 69 and 155).
And although Allison has proposed that the Paris version is an early prototype of this series, the relatively rough and unfinished appearance suggests it was perhaps a later after-cast (ibid., p. 161 and Paillat, op. cit., p. 6).
COLONEL BOSCAWEN AND SYLVIA ADAMS
'What would be the price of the Hercules alone? You will appreciate that in these days of economic uncertainty one must be careful'
So Colonel Boscawen wrote to the London dealer Sylvia Adams, on May 27th, 1949. Adams replied: 'I am afraid the very lowest I can take for the Hercules is £1550' (Avery, op. cit., 2002, p. 110, note 17). In the end Boscawen rose to the occasion, and Antico's Hercules joined the storied collection at Moa, his vast sisal estate in remote north-east Tanganyika (now Tanzania).
The Lieutenant Colonel the Hon. Mildmay Thomas Boscawen (1892-1958) formed one of the most important collections of European bronzes in the 20th century. It is even more impressive that this was done from a distance of thousands of miles from the dealers and salerooms of Europe and the United States. Boscawen, as the fourth son of Major General Sir Evelyn Edward Thomas Boscawen, the 7th Viscount Falmouth, had little prospects of inheriting in England so, after his service in World War I, he moved to Africa. Boscawen began farming in Tanganyika in the 1920s and eventually by the late 1940s his estates covered about 85,000 acres. Collecting slowly at first, due to his precarious economic situation and then, as his estates started to produce increasing income, Boscawen gradually augmented his collection. Bronzes were safe for him to assemble in Africa as they could survive the arduous journey to Moa and once installed, were largely impervious to the heat and humidity of the climate. As Avery has discussed, it was primarily the dealers, and in particular C.G. Copper, Alfred Spero and Sylvia Adams, that helped Boscawen, all within fifteen years, build up such a spectacular collection. Indeed in 1951, Carl Winter, then Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum wrote to Boscawen commenting 'I am aware of your interest in bronzes every time there is an important sale or a beautiful example turns up, for one of our friends in the trade is bound to say "this is reserved for a certain gentleman"' (ibid., pp. 30 and 36).
His correspondence, with Adams in particular, was long and colorful. In addition to the bargaining back-and-forth mentioned above, the Hercules was discussed further in their correspondence of 1949 (ibid, p. 110, note 17). Adams described Antico's bronze as follows:
'I am enclosing photographs of the important little collection of 15th century bronzes. The Hercules is by Antico and it is the most outstanding example. It is sharp and crisp and the owner declared that it was finer than the one in the Vienna Museum. This is at present on Exhibition at the Tate Gallery (Art Treasures from Vienna) and we saw this yesterday and sincerely agree that the enclosed is much finer. The drapery is gilded, as it should be, but needs cleaning. Apart from the drapery, the entire color of the remaining bronze is lovely. As you will see from the photograph, this is a powerful and majestic bronze... Tip of the right thumb and club missing.'
It appears Boscawen, probably due to the combination of his reduced income - even as he continued to make substantial donations to African charities - a lack of space and increasingly ill health that he had stopped buying by 1952 (ibid., p. 37). He died in London in 1958, leaving most of the collection to his sister, the Hon. Mrs. Pamela Sherek of Geneva and, upon her death, they were then bequeathed in Boscawen's memory to the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. The Fitzwilliam now holds fifty-five of Boscawen's bronzes. Two of the most important bronzes in his collection, however, and both by Antico, are no longer part of this group. The first of these, sold by the Fitzwilliam to pay estate taxes and now in a private collection, is the Apollo Belvedere. The other is the present Hercules.
It is not certain when the Hercules left Boscawen's collection and was sold back to Sylvia Adams. But Boscawen, as well as his sister, as Avery has discussed, was certainly able to de-accession at times, selling to raise cash or credit with a dealer for another purchase (ibid., 2004, pp. 88-90).
While the precise dating and exact provenances of these bronzes have been debated for decades, their quality is incontestable. Hercules, with his silver-inlaid eyes and the dramatic contrast of the rich patina and mercury-gilt hair and lion skin - combined with its original modeling and meticulous chasing - remains as dazzling to the modern viewer as it would have been to the princes and princesses of the Renaissance.