Francesco Bertos (1678-1741), Italian, Venice, first half 18th century

Earth inscribed: TERRA
Air inscribed: AER
Water inscribed: AQVA

28th Duke of Nájera, Count of Oñate, Treviño, Campo Real and Castañeda;
Marqués de Onteiro;
La Union y El Fénix;
sold at Alcala Subastas, Madrid, 4th-5th October, 2000;
Private collection, UK

C. Avery, The Triumph of Motion: Francesco Bertos (1678-1741) and the Art of Sculpture. Catalogue Raisonné, Turin, 2008, pp.187-198, nos, 56, 57, 58

Overall the condition of the marbles is good. There is some wear and minor dirt to the surface consistent with age. There are some minor inclusions and dark veining on the surface consistent with material. The surface is characterised by varying levels of finish and polish. There are some minor nicks and chips in each of the groups. The fragility of the extremities of the marbles has caused a number of, now restored, breaks. The group representing Air has restored breaks to the proper left forearm, proper left foot and proper right wrist of the young female, the proper left horn, lower jaw, the ankle of the proper right front leg and the shin of the proper left front leg of the antelope, the proper right shoulder and possibly the tip of the proper left hoof of the satyr holding the grapes. The proper right side of the male rider has some slightly brownish staining to the surface. An attribute is missing from his hand. There is an area of minor dark inclusions to the proper right side of the antelope. Water has restored breaks to the proper right wrist of the female, possibly the quiver of the male rider, just under the knee of the proper right front leg and the shin of the proper left front leg of the unicorn and the proper left wrist of the man with the snake. There is a chip to the tail of the unicorn. There is an area of wear to the surface around the chest of the female. Earth has restored breaks to the proper left forearm and proper right hand of the female, the tip of the proper right horn, tail and possibly the proper left upper front leg of the ox, the proper left arm of the male rider above the elbow, the proper right leg of the man with the basket above the knee and the proper left leg of the putto above the knee. There is some veining visible on the surface around the putto's leg and torso, around the ox' neck and the back and shoulders of the man with the baskets.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Introduction

Around 1730, Bertos was questioned by the Italian Inquisition.  The charge was that his astounding virtuosity in carving complex figure groups in marble was achieved by some form of pact with the devil.  Bertos had to defend his pious sincerity against this false accusation, which may have been made by a jealous rival sculptor.  It is believed that his multi-figure group of the Triumph of Christianity, inscribed HVCVSQ(V)E F. o BERTOS LICVIT (Thus far [and no further] it has been permitted to Francesco Bertos [to go]), was made as testimony to his religious belief and obedience. The groups which Avery suggests were used by the Inquisition as proof of Bertos's unnatural skill are the lost, but documented marble allegories of the Arts, commissioned by Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg. These ambitious marble extravaganza were partly paid for by 1732 and announce a sculptor of unique talent, but one who seems to have emerged suddenly and without a clear teacher; even Bertos's birth and death date were unknown to modern scholars until Avery's monographic study in 2008.  What sketchy biographical information there is comes from some general early 19^th century publications.  G.A. Moschini notes that the Venetian sculptor Giovanni Bonazza (1654-1736) was his teacher - and there is a certain stylistic comparison. P. Zani described Bertos as 'a mediocre sculptor who was still alive in 1710'. However, 20 years later he had developed an exceptional dexterity in intricate marble carving.  With so few known facts, any attempt to establish a precise chronology for Bertos's works is hazardous. The complexity of the present multi-figure groups places them in the sculptor's maturity, in his last decade when, aged in his early fifties, he was at the height of his powers. They epitomise the category of virtuoso marble compositions which so shocked (and no doubt impressed) the Inquisition.

The iconography

The demands of Bertos's main patrons, such as Antonio Manin and Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg, certainly encouraged the erudite, not to say obscure and inventive, iconography of his compositions. A few documented commissions demonstrate that each figure should have a specific identity, but at the same time, there seems to have been built into the individual protagonists, and their relationships, an intentional ambiguity of meaning which was meant to stimulate debate amongst the observers.  As Avery described it, these groups are the advanced crossword puzzles of their day.

The main subject of the present marbles is clearly stated by the inscriptions: Air, Water and Earth, three of the four Elements.  Each group consists of four or five figures composed around a central rearing animal, respectively a stag, a unicorn and bull. Analysing each of the figures and their attributes more closely inevitably leads to more inventive and obscure identifications.  In the group representing Air, Avery suggests that the female figure riding the stag personifies Air in accordance with Cesare Ripa's Iconologia, in which Air holds a rainbow, but here the rainbow is suggested by the bunches of flowers, possibly Iris, who in Greek mythology represented the rainbow. If that explanation can be accepted, which for Bertos is relatively straight forward, the identities of the other figures in the Air group are harder to explain, hindered also by the loss of some attributes.

The identities of the figures in the group representing Water are unusually clear. Here Avery discerns a 'marine mythological family group gathered around the unicorn, the touch of whose horn was believed to purify water'. Amphtritre stands on the unicorn's back, supported by her husband, Neptune.  Her father, Oceanus, crouches under the unicorn, whilst her son, Triton, blows on the conch shell.  The fifth figure of a boy on dolphin is less precisely identified but could represent one of the major rivers.

With the group of Earth, the 17^th century crossword becomes advanced level.  The bearded man, with lion skin at his side accompanied by a bull, suggests Hercules and the Cretan bull, but is unclear how this relates to the central theme: Earth.  Hercules accompanied by the type of beautiful woman who balances on the back of the bull might suggest Omphale, Queen of Lydia.  Avery tentatively, and inventively, postulates that for the Greeks 'Omphalos  (literally a navel) was also regarded as "marking the middle point of the Earth"... although they placed it in Delphi [rather than Crete]'.

The Provenance

From the surviving documentation Bertos does not seem to have received any direct commissions from Spanish patrons. However, the appearance of the present group of three marbles in a noble family in Spain offers an indication that some of his best works made their way into Spanish collections either through acquisition or inheritance.  Further proof of this is the Spanish provenance of the marble group of Hylonome Restrained which sold in these rooms for £229,250 on 8^th July 2010 as lot 114.  Interestingly, the Museo Nacional del Prado contains four works by Bertos, three bronzes and a marble. Whilst all these works were acquired since the late 1960s, and the bronzes have an English provenance, the marble group, representing Humility and Faith, was bought on the market in Madrid, perhaps indicating an earlier provenance there.

According to Avery the present marbles re-appeared in Madrid twelve years ago with a 'chequered recent pedigree from the family of the Dukes of Nájera, Counts of Oñate, Treviño, Campo Real and Castañeda'. Avery postulated that 'within this distinguished family, the most likely one to have come into contact with Bertos was Don Beltran Manuel de Guevara, Captain General of the Galleys of Sicily, who married the heiress of the eleventh duke of Nájera (who died young and unmarried), his sister Nicolasa Manrique de Mendoza.  His employment by the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, a fief of Spain run by Viceroys, and his naval career might have brought him into contact with the maritime republic of Venice, or with the King of Sardinia, by then in the hands of the House of Savoy and by whom Bertos was to the end of his life patronised.  On the other hand, they may have been acquired considerably later, as collector's items'.  Recent research has indicated that the marbles were in fact inherited from a member of the Torrejón family by a descendant of Don Beltran Manuel de Guevara who was also descended from the sister of the Duque of Nájera.

Conclusion

This group of marbles representing the Air, Water and Earth are the most elaborate and impressive marbles by Francesco Bertos to have appeared on the market. They show Bertos at the height of his artistic skill and eccentric imagination. Alongside the seminal pair of bronze groups of The Vintage and The Art of War which sold in these rooms in the 2011 Treasures sale for £577,000, these marble groups offer a rare opportunity to acquire some of the most magnificent Italian sculptures of the early 18^th century.