A TERRACOTTA BUST OF A GENTLEMAN

BY GAETANO MERCHI (1747-1823), 1783

Details

A TERRACOTTA BUST OF A GENTLEMAN
BY GAETANO MERCHI (1747-1823), 1783
Standing on a integrally modeled base signed and dated Merchi./fecit/1783
25 ¼ in. (64.3 cm.) high

Provenance

Anonymous sale; Drouot, Paris, 24 March 1986, lot 60.
A. González-Palacios, Paris; Sotheby's, Paris, 29 March 2007, lot 79.

Literature

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
P. Lauzin, 'Un sculpteur oublié, Gaëtan Merchi', Gazette des Beaux Arts, October 1898, pp. 265 - 280.
Cat. exp. L'Art français et l'Europe aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, Paris, 1958, no. 131.
G. Hubert, Les Sculpteurs Italiens en France sous la Révolution, l'Empire et la Restauration 1790-1830, Paris, 1964.
L. Azcue Brea, La Esculture en la Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, 1994, pp. 394 - 396.

Brought to you by

Will Russell

wrussell@christies.com +1 212 636 2525

Lot Essay

Originally from Brescia, Gaetano Merchi left Italy for Saint Petersburg where he found himself under the patronage of Empress Catherine II. In 1777, he traveled to Paris where he studied at the Académie Royale of Painting and Sculpture and became known for his portraits of famous contemporary actresses. By 1795, Merchi had moved once again, this time to Madrid, where he became the court sculptor to King Charles IV and realized several portraits of important Spanish figures, including busts of the King and the painter Goya.

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