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Lot Essay
Francesco Fanelli – known in at least one 17th century document as ‘the one-eyed Italian’ – was born in Florence and trained there before moving to Genoa by 1605. He had a successful career there spanning approximately 25 years, producing works principally in the media of marble and bronze before moving to London in around 1632 where he was partronised by the nobility and worked for the king, Charles I, as Court Sculptor (for a succinct account of the known details of the careers of Fanelli and his sons see Wengraf, op. cit., pp. 324-329).
Although there is some suggestion that he may had made a previous journey to England (see ibid, p. 32), it was the period from his arrival in London circa 1632, until his departure probably around 1641 which seems to have been the most important for his development of the small domestic bronze statuette. Between an inventory of the Royal Collection of Charles I compiled in 1640 by the Keeper of his collections – Abraham van der Doort – and a later inventory compiled by the antiquarian George Vertue (1684-1756) of the collection of the Earl (later Duke) of Newcastle at Welbeck Abbey, it has been possible to identify at least five of Fanelli’s compositions in bronze for his English patrons. These included St George and the Dragon, Nessus and Deianira, A Turk on Horseback Attacked by a Lion, Cupid on Horseback and a single Horse.
The present group is closely related to these documented compositions in subject, detail and style. In terms of composition it is particularly close to the St. George and the Dragon, along with the Turk on Horse attacked by a Lion (for the latter see lot 21). In terms of stylistic detail, the strong, arched neck of the horse, along with its flowing mane and narrow muzzle strongly mirror accepted works by Fanelli.
The significant difference between this bronze and the slightly smaller scale versions referred to above relates to casting and finishing techniques. Bronzes by Fanelli which are accepted as being from his early period tend to be heavily cast and very ‘waxy’ in their detail. However, the present bronze is very thinly cast and extensively chased, suggesting the finishing of a different hand.
There is at least one cast of the present bronze, formerly in the Budge collection, Hamburg (see ibid, p. 47, fig. 17), and it has been plausibly suggested by Wengraf that the Budge bronze – and, by extension, the present lot – were cast and/or finished by Fanelli’s son, Pietro. Francesco had three sons who continued in his sculptural workshop in Genoa after his departure. Pietro seems to have worked principally in silver, and it is thought that the precise nature of the finishing evident here suggests the hand of a gold or silversmith. It may therefore be that the present dynamic bronze represents a collaboration, where the original composition can be attributed to the father, but the casting and finishing may have been the responsibility of the son.
Although there is some suggestion that he may had made a previous journey to England (see ibid, p. 32), it was the period from his arrival in London circa 1632, until his departure probably around 1641 which seems to have been the most important for his development of the small domestic bronze statuette. Between an inventory of the Royal Collection of Charles I compiled in 1640 by the Keeper of his collections – Abraham van der Doort – and a later inventory compiled by the antiquarian George Vertue (1684-1756) of the collection of the Earl (later Duke) of Newcastle at Welbeck Abbey, it has been possible to identify at least five of Fanelli’s compositions in bronze for his English patrons. These included St George and the Dragon, Nessus and Deianira, A Turk on Horseback Attacked by a Lion, Cupid on Horseback and a single Horse.
The present group is closely related to these documented compositions in subject, detail and style. In terms of composition it is particularly close to the St. George and the Dragon, along with the Turk on Horse attacked by a Lion (for the latter see lot 21). In terms of stylistic detail, the strong, arched neck of the horse, along with its flowing mane and narrow muzzle strongly mirror accepted works by Fanelli.
The significant difference between this bronze and the slightly smaller scale versions referred to above relates to casting and finishing techniques. Bronzes by Fanelli which are accepted as being from his early period tend to be heavily cast and very ‘waxy’ in their detail. However, the present bronze is very thinly cast and extensively chased, suggesting the finishing of a different hand.
There is at least one cast of the present bronze, formerly in the Budge collection, Hamburg (see ibid, p. 47, fig. 17), and it has been plausibly suggested by Wengraf that the Budge bronze – and, by extension, the present lot – were cast and/or finished by Fanelli’s son, Pietro. Francesco had three sons who continued in his sculptural workshop in Genoa after his departure. Pietro seems to have worked principally in silver, and it is thought that the precise nature of the finishing evident here suggests the hand of a gold or silversmith. It may therefore be that the present dynamic bronze represents a collaboration, where the original composition can be attributed to the father, but the casting and finishing may have been the responsibility of the son.