Workshop of Giambologna (1529 - 1608)

Sotheby's London, 7 July 2006, lot 74;

Where acquired.

This finely cast bust appears to be a unicum. The hair is superbly modelled in the wax, and shows very little after casting work. The facture of the bronze is comparable to other late 16^th century bronzes, cast in the circle of Giambologna, and could be the work of one of his earlier disciples from northern Europe.

The most striking similarities, on which the identification of the model is based, are with the marble figure of the Fata Morgana, recently acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art (Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, inv. 2025.18), and the monumental group of Florence Triumphing over Pisa (Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence). In both marbles, the first dating from 1572 and the second from 1575, the head of the female figure is similarly turned to the left, almost in profile, and slightly tilted downwards; the facial features are neat and perfectly symmetrical. Although the poses are very similar, one should notice that the allegory of Florence has her mouth slightly open, unlike the Cleveland marble and our bust. Furthermore, while the left shoulder is slightly drooping in both marbles, Florence's right shoulder is more forward than that of the Fata Morgana. The latter's posture gives a softer line to the shoulders and neck, again closer to the present bronze. Finally, although the left arm of the two marble figures is slightly forward, exerting a gentle pressure on the breast, it should be noted that the nipple of the Fata Morgana almost touches the left arm, again in the same way than in our bust.

Commissioned from Giambologna by the banker Bernardo Vecchietti, the marble figure of the Fata Morgana was named from the nearby spring that fed the fountain she surmounted. She also embodied the medieval sorceress Morgana, disciple of Merlin and rival half-sister of King Arthur.

The Davidson bronze is not currently known in any other version. Its relatively heavy lost-wax casting and the olive color of its alloy differ from more common 17th and 18th centuries small busts. The integral cartouche, a highly classical detail, and small base suggest that it may have been part of a series of small busts.

RELATED LITERATURE

B. Paolozzi Strozzi, D. Zikos, Giambologna. Gli dei, gli eroi. Genesi e fortuna di uno stile europeo nella scultura, exh. cat. Museo Nazionale del Bargello, 2006, pp. 235-38, nos. 39-41 and p. 135;

Ch. Avery, A. Radcliffe, Giambologna 1529 - 1608. Sculptor to the Medici, exh. cat. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 1978, pp. 218-19, no. 224;

Ch. Avery, Giambologna. The Complete Sculpture, 1987, pp. 62-69, 79, pl.17;

M. Bury, "Vecchietti, Patron of Giambologna", in I Tatti Studies, vol. I, 1985, pp. 96-100.