Master Sculpture and Works of Art Part II
Master Sculpture and Works of Art Part II
Property from a Distinguished Private Collection, Washington, D.C.
Francesco Bertos (Venice 1678 - 1741) Venice, 18th century
pair of allegorical groups: Carrying off Fame and Folly Supporting Spring
Lot Closed
January 30, 08:44 PM GMT
Estimate
50,000 - 70,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Francesco Bertos (Venice 1678 - 1741)
Venice, 18th century
pair of allegorical groups: Carrying off Fame and Folly Supporting Spring
bronze, on waisted marble socles
heights overall 25 1/4 and 25 3/4 in.; 64.2 and 65.1cm.
His sale, Sotheby's London, 2 December 1969, lots 119 and 120;
Purchased by "Leggatt";
Alex Wengraf, Ltd., London, 1994
C. Avery, Bertos: The Triumph in Motion, Venice 2008, nos. 83, 87 and 88, p. 202
The pose of the male figure holding the nude female aloft is a familiar motif in Bertos's allegorical groups and certainly derives from Giambologna's Rape of the Sabines. The second bronze of this pair shares the same composition with the Bertos group of Industry and Virtue in the J. Paul Getty Museum. Another pair, probably forming a set of four with the Getty pair, were sold in these rooms in sale of The Arthur Sackler Estate, 29 January 2010 lot 482.
Although the attributes here are somewhat ambiguous, which is not uncommon in Bertos' work, one female figure holds a trumpet (which represents Fame) and the other has a wreath of leaves on her head and holds plants in her hands, which could be associated with Spring.