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Lot Essay
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
J. Hecht, Liechtenstein: The Princely Collections, exh. cat., New York, 1985, no. 48.
F. Scholten and M. Verber, From Vulcan's Forge: Bronzes from the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam 1450-1800, exh. cat., London, 2005, no. 22.
This expressive silver figure, as was noted in the 1998 catalogue, has an overall flat linear construction and is, in many respects, an almost painterly image (Avery, op. cit.). Despite this, however, equal attention has been paid to the anatomy of the front and back of the figure.
While there are about twenty different casts of this model of St. Sebastian, the Hall version is probably the only silver one, as Scholten notes, as most are bronze (op. cit.). These versions vary only slightly, with the main differences being that some have no loin cloth and show no wounds. This model has been attributed to several early 17th century sculptors, but the consensus seems to have settled on Tacca. As Scholten also notes, the high number of surviving versions indicate a large, successful workshop and the smooth, clean modelling of the body, the facial features and hair all recall other works by Tacca (op. cit.).
J. Hecht, Liechtenstein: The Princely Collections, exh. cat., New York, 1985, no. 48.
F. Scholten and M. Verber, From Vulcan's Forge: Bronzes from the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam 1450-1800, exh. cat., London, 2005, no. 22.
This expressive silver figure, as was noted in the 1998 catalogue, has an overall flat linear construction and is, in many respects, an almost painterly image (Avery, op. cit.). Despite this, however, equal attention has been paid to the anatomy of the front and back of the figure.
While there are about twenty different casts of this model of St. Sebastian, the Hall version is probably the only silver one, as Scholten notes, as most are bronze (op. cit.). These versions vary only slightly, with the main differences being that some have no loin cloth and show no wounds. This model has been attributed to several early 17th century sculptors, but the consensus seems to have settled on Tacca. As Scholten also notes, the high number of surviving versions indicate a large, successful workshop and the smooth, clean modelling of the body, the facial features and hair all recall other works by Tacca (op. cit.).