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Lot Essay
Jean de Boulogne or - as he is better known today – Giambologna ((1529-1608) was probably the most influential sculptor of Mannerist Europe. Born in Douai, he had his early training in the Lowlands but travelled to Italy in 1550 to study classical antiquities and absorb the latest artistic innovations. He would eventually become court sculptor to the Medici Grand Dukes of Tuscany. He carved numerous large-scale marbles and also cast monumental bronzes but his influence was greatly extended by the practice of his patrons, the Grand Dukes, of giving examples of his small bronzes to foreign royalty and other dignitaries as diplomatic gifts. This ensured that his compositions were disseminated to a wide audience across the continent.
Giambologna is today probably most remembered for his mythological figures and groups, but his religious subjects also represent a significant part of his oeuvre. Among the latter, corpus figures attributed to the sculptor are numerous, in that they appear with many minor variations and sizes. The field is made more complicated by the number of examples created by followers over the succeeding centuries – a testament to the enduring popularity of his style. The present example is, however, almost certainly one of two documented gilt-bronze casts that were given to Spanish recipients by the Florentine court.
In an important article written by Rosario Coppel Areizaga (op. cit.), the author discusses a gift made by Ferdinando de’ Medici to Catalina de Sandoval y Rojas, Countess of Lemos. The countess was the principal lady in waiting to the Spanish queen, and both Lemos and her brother, the Duke of Lerma, were influential members of the Spanish court. As a result, Ferdinando ordered for a corpus figure and four figures of the evangelists to be cast and sent to the countess, among other gifts. On 13 January 1603, Antonio Susini received 113 escudos for the production of the crucifix and four evangelists. They were sent to Michelangelo Palai on 10 April for gilding, and the bases – made of a particular wood called granatiglio – were made by ‘Master Marchionere’. In a letter written by Ferdinando to Cosimo Concini dated 31 July, the Grand Duke further specifies that the gifts to the countess included a gilt-bronze corpus figure of the ‘still living’ Christ and four evangelists of the same material, all on granatiglio bases set with hardstones.
A gilt-bronze corpus figure in the monastery of Las Descalzes Reales in Madrid – demonstrably from the hand of Giambologna – has long been thought to be the figure formerly in the collection of the countess, not least because there was a long-standing connection between her family and this monastery. However, the appearance of a second gilt-bronze version of the same composition in a Spanish private collection - the present lot - created some uncertainty about this assumption.
Coppel Areizaga compares the two bronze figures, noting first that they are the only two known examples of this composition. She points out that, although the two casts are both extremely high quality, the present example is actually slightly superior, citing the delineation of the eyebrows and the definition of the teeth among other things. She goes on to say that there are documentary sources to suggest that another cast of the corpus figure may have been a gift from the Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Maria Magdalena of Austria, to her niece, the Infanta Dona Ana, daughter of Philip III of Spain, on the occasion of her engagement to Louis XIII of France in 1612.
Numerous sources refer to the gift of a corpus figure, which was finally delivered to the Infanta on 8 September 1612. Although these records do not specify the author of the figure, it is argued by Coppel Areizaga that the bronze given to the Infanta was a cast already in the possession of the Grand Duchess’s husband Cosimo II, inherited from his father Ferdinando. In a letter from Cosimo II to Vincenzo Gonzaga dated 27 July 1609, Cosimo refers to a corpus ‘of the kind made by Giovanni Bolognini, which depicts our Saviour alive on the cross’. He emphasises the ‘great appreciation and consideration’ his father had for the corpus figure. It is suggested that a gift given by the Grand Duchess to her niece the Infanta Dona Ana on such an important occasion would have come from the court’s most important sculptor.
Although it cannot be said with certainty that the corpus figure in the monastery of Las Descalzes Reales in Madrid and the present example are the two bronzes given to the countess of Lemos and the Infanta Dona Ana, it seems extremely likely. It is also worth noting that the example in the monastery is on the very specific wood outlined in the documentation of the gift to the countess – granatiglio – which makes it even more likely that it is, indeed, the one given to her along with the figures of the four evangelists in 1603. That would suggest that the present gilt-bronze figure, already noted to be the superior cast of the two known examples, was the example so appreciated by Ferdinando de’ Medici.
With its carefully delineated facial features, its sumptuously sculptural locks of hair, and its idealised body, the present figure captures both the artistic ability of the celebrated sculptor Giambologna and the technical brilliance of the sculptor and founder Antonio Susini. Its likely provenance – from the Florentine Grand Ducal collections and given as a gift to the queen of France – make it even more desirable.
Giambologna is today probably most remembered for his mythological figures and groups, but his religious subjects also represent a significant part of his oeuvre. Among the latter, corpus figures attributed to the sculptor are numerous, in that they appear with many minor variations and sizes. The field is made more complicated by the number of examples created by followers over the succeeding centuries – a testament to the enduring popularity of his style. The present example is, however, almost certainly one of two documented gilt-bronze casts that were given to Spanish recipients by the Florentine court.
In an important article written by Rosario Coppel Areizaga (op. cit.), the author discusses a gift made by Ferdinando de’ Medici to Catalina de Sandoval y Rojas, Countess of Lemos. The countess was the principal lady in waiting to the Spanish queen, and both Lemos and her brother, the Duke of Lerma, were influential members of the Spanish court. As a result, Ferdinando ordered for a corpus figure and four figures of the evangelists to be cast and sent to the countess, among other gifts. On 13 January 1603, Antonio Susini received 113 escudos for the production of the crucifix and four evangelists. They were sent to Michelangelo Palai on 10 April for gilding, and the bases – made of a particular wood called granatiglio – were made by ‘Master Marchionere’. In a letter written by Ferdinando to Cosimo Concini dated 31 July, the Grand Duke further specifies that the gifts to the countess included a gilt-bronze corpus figure of the ‘still living’ Christ and four evangelists of the same material, all on granatiglio bases set with hardstones.
A gilt-bronze corpus figure in the monastery of Las Descalzes Reales in Madrid – demonstrably from the hand of Giambologna – has long been thought to be the figure formerly in the collection of the countess, not least because there was a long-standing connection between her family and this monastery. However, the appearance of a second gilt-bronze version of the same composition in a Spanish private collection - the present lot - created some uncertainty about this assumption.
Coppel Areizaga compares the two bronze figures, noting first that they are the only two known examples of this composition. She points out that, although the two casts are both extremely high quality, the present example is actually slightly superior, citing the delineation of the eyebrows and the definition of the teeth among other things. She goes on to say that there are documentary sources to suggest that another cast of the corpus figure may have been a gift from the Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Maria Magdalena of Austria, to her niece, the Infanta Dona Ana, daughter of Philip III of Spain, on the occasion of her engagement to Louis XIII of France in 1612.
Numerous sources refer to the gift of a corpus figure, which was finally delivered to the Infanta on 8 September 1612. Although these records do not specify the author of the figure, it is argued by Coppel Areizaga that the bronze given to the Infanta was a cast already in the possession of the Grand Duchess’s husband Cosimo II, inherited from his father Ferdinando. In a letter from Cosimo II to Vincenzo Gonzaga dated 27 July 1609, Cosimo refers to a corpus ‘of the kind made by Giovanni Bolognini, which depicts our Saviour alive on the cross’. He emphasises the ‘great appreciation and consideration’ his father had for the corpus figure. It is suggested that a gift given by the Grand Duchess to her niece the Infanta Dona Ana on such an important occasion would have come from the court’s most important sculptor.
Although it cannot be said with certainty that the corpus figure in the monastery of Las Descalzes Reales in Madrid and the present example are the two bronzes given to the countess of Lemos and the Infanta Dona Ana, it seems extremely likely. It is also worth noting that the example in the monastery is on the very specific wood outlined in the documentation of the gift to the countess – granatiglio – which makes it even more likely that it is, indeed, the one given to her along with the figures of the four evangelists in 1603. That would suggest that the present gilt-bronze figure, already noted to be the superior cast of the two known examples, was the example so appreciated by Ferdinando de’ Medici.
With its carefully delineated facial features, its sumptuously sculptural locks of hair, and its idealised body, the present figure captures both the artistic ability of the celebrated sculptor Giambologna and the technical brilliance of the sculptor and founder Antonio Susini. Its likely provenance – from the Florentine Grand Ducal collections and given as a gift to the queen of France – make it even more desirable.