WORKSHOP OF FRANCESCO FANELLI (FL 1608-1661?), FIRST HALF 17TH CENTURY

Details

A BRONZE GROUP OF NESSUS AND DEIANIRA
WORKSHOP OF FRANCESCO FANELLI (FL 1608-1661?), FIRST HALF 17TH CENTURY
Depicting Nessus rearing and holding a bow in his right hand; with Deianira on his back; on an integral rectangular naturalistic bronze plinth inscribed in red on the underside with the inventory number '209' and with the remains of a circular gold label indistinctly inscribed 'THE B...QUE DEALERS' CERTIFIED ...RPOSES ...R 100 YEARS O...'; blackish brown patina with medium brown high points; chips to patina; the tail probably replaced
7 3/8 in. (18.7 cm.) high

Provenance

Purchased by Alfred Beit (1853-1906) by 1904.
Thence by descent to Lady (Clementine) Beit (1915-2005) by whom donated to the Alfred Beit Foundation in 2005.

Literature

W. Bode, The Art Collection of Mr. Alfred Beit at His Residence 26 Park Lane London, Berlin, 1904, as 'Imitator of Giambologna'.
W. Bode, Catalogue of the Collection of Pictures and Bronzes in the Possession of Mr. Otto Beit, London, 1913, p. 107, no. 209, as 'After of Gian Bologna'.

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
J. Pope-Hennessy, 'Some Bronze Statuettes by Francesco Fanelli', reprinted in Essays on Italian Sculpture, New York and London, 1968, pp. 166-171.

Exhibited

London, Burlington Fine Arts Club, Catalogue of a Collection of Italian Sculpture and other Plastic Art of the Renaissance, 1913, no. 25, pl. XXXVIII.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The present bronze group is a model which is firmly attributed to Francesco Fanelli, 'the one-eyed Italian', who moved from his native Italy to work at the court of Charles I of England. It represents the moment in mythology when the centaur Nessus abducts Deianira, the wife of Hercules, after offering to carry her to safety across a river. Fanelli treated this subject twice, with the other model depicting Deianira in a more frantic struggle to release herself from the grip of her captor (for an example of this composition see lot 172).

Many of the characteristic Fanelli hallmarks are evident here, including the inclusion of an equestrian subject, the waxy treatment of the details, and the distinctive naturalistic plinth. For a general discussion of Fanelli's work in the Beit collection, see the pre-lot text to lot 172.

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