A CARVED MARBLE FIGURE OF A SLEEPING AMORINO

AFTER THE ANTIQUE, ENGLISH, 18TH CENTURY

Details

A CARVED MARBLE FIGURE OF A SLEEPING AMORINO
AFTER THE ANTIQUE, ENGLISH, 18TH CENTURY
On an integrally carved naturalistic base.
Minor restorations and losses; damages.
27in. (68.6 cm.) long

Literature

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
J. Pope-Hennessy, Italian Renaissance and Baroque Sculpture, London and New York, 1970, p.7.
A. Stewart, Greek Sculpture - An Exploration, vols. I and II, New Haven and London, 1991, p.225, fig. 821.

Lot Essay

The present piece ultimately derives from a Greek bronze of the sleeping Eros from Rhodes dating from the late Hellenistic period (Stewart, loc. cit.), and known from several Roman examples. In 1495 Michelangelo is documented to have executed a sleeping Cupid, based on the classical model, and which in fact passed as antique at the time and was bought by Cardinal Riario (Pope-Hennessy, loc. cit.). This is now lost, but almost certainly acted as inspiration to artists of later generations.

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