Amor Y Pudor (Love and Modesty)

Details

JOSE DE VILCHES (SPANISH, 1813-1890)
Amor Y Pudor (Love and Modesty)
signed 'VILCHES.ROMA', on red marble base with brass plaque engraved 'AMOR Y PUDOR / JOSE VILCHES 1815-1890 ROMA 1860'
marble
33 in. (84 cm.) high; 57 ½ in. (145 cm.) wide; 20 in. (51 cm.) deep, the marble; 37 in. (94 cm.) high; 61 ½ in. (156 cm.) wide; 24 in. (61 cm.) deep, overall
circa 1860

Literature

M.-J. Herrero Sanz, ‘El escultor José Vilches y su obra en el Palacio real de Madrid’, Reales Sitios, 140, Madrid, 1999.

Special notice

This lot will be removed to Christie’s Park Royal. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. Our removal and storage of the lot is subject to the terms and conditions of storage which can be found at Christies.com/storage and our fees for storage are set out in the table below - these will apply whether the lot remains with Christie’s or is removed elsewhere. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Christie’s Park Royal. All collections from Christie’s Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s it will be available for collection on any working day 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Lots are not available for collection at weekends.

Brought to you by

Giles Forster

gforster@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2146

Lot Essay

According to Ovid, Cupid’s arrows were of two kinds, gold that kindled love and lead that drove it away (Metamorphoses 1:468 ff). Here the subject, titled Love and Modesty, is shown about to be struck by cupid’s arrow and tormented in expectation of ecstasy.
Born in Malaga in 1813, Vilches worked in Rome, where he created the present lot in 1860 following the success of his statue of Andromache, 1853, which won a gold medal at the National Exhibition of Fine Art in Madrid in 1856 and was installed in the Royal Conservatory of Music, before being moved to its position today in the Paseo de Recoletos. Vilches was court sculptor to Queen Isabella II of Spain (1830 –1904) whose lifesize statue he sculpted in 1862, and is today in the Campo del Moro gardens at the Palacio Real, Madrid. Establishing himself in Madrid society, the banker the Marquis of Campo (1814-1889) bought a sculpture and a relief by Vilches in 1875. A monumental marble relief of Alexander taming Bucephalus by Vilches sold Christie's, London, 29 November 2016, lot 352 (£239,000).

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