Old Master Sculpture & Works of Art
Old Master Sculpture & Works of Art
Property of a Distinguished Private Collector
Attributed to Francesco Fanelli (1577 - after 1641) | Anglo-Italian, circa 1640 | Sleeping Cupid
Lot Closed
July 6, 02:07 PM GMT
Estimate
12,000 - 18,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property of a Distinguished Private Collector
Attributed to Francesco Fanelli (1577 - after 1641)
Anglo-Italian, circa 1640
Sleeping Cupid
bronze, on an ebonised wood base
bronze: 10 by 25cm., 4 by 9 7/8 in.
base: 7 by 27.5 by 15cm., 2¾ by 10 7/8 by 5 7/8 in.
Christie's London, 15 May 1984, lot 140;
C. L. Loyd;
sale of his collection, Christie's London, 5 July 2007, lot 183;
the present owner
C. L. Loyd;
sale of his collection, Christie's London, 5 July 2007, lot 183;
the present owner
F. Russell (ed.), The Loyd Collection of Paintings, Drawings and Sculptures, London, 1991, p. 53, no. 148 and pl. 78
This beautiful bronze relates closely to a Sleeping Cupid in the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv. no. A. 2-1981), signed underneath with the initial F, which was first published as the work of Francesco Fanelli by Anthony Radcliffe in 1981 (op. cit.). Another, smaller version of the model recorded in a private collection bears the initials FFF (Franciscus Fanellius Florentinus), corroborating Fanelli's authorship.
Radcliffe observed that the model was probably based on one of three now-lost marble Sleeping Cupids which Charles I acquired from the Ducal collections in Mantua. Having moved to England from his native Florence, Fanelli was in the employ of Charles I by 1635, and several of his bronzes were recorded in the King's collection in 1640.
The present bronze corresponds to the V&A cast in its technical refinement as well as its general composition, though there are some differences, notably in the appearance of the lion skin, the absence of a club in the V&A example, and its inclusion of a quiver, which the present putto lacks. It is possible that the model was reimagined as the infant Hercules, though the present figure retains the wings characteristic of the god of love. A cast in gilt bronze whose composition closely follows the present lot was sold in these rooms on 8 July 1993 (lot 36) and subsequently with Daniel Katz Ltd.
RELATED LITERATURE
D. Chambers and J. Martineau (eds.), Splendours of the Gonzaga, exh. cat. Victoria and Albert Museum, 1981, p. 246, no. 279; European Sculpture, exh. cat. Daniel Katz Ltd, New York and London, 1996, no. 21
Radcliffe observed that the model was probably based on one of three now-lost marble Sleeping Cupids which Charles I acquired from the Ducal collections in Mantua. Having moved to England from his native Florence, Fanelli was in the employ of Charles I by 1635, and several of his bronzes were recorded in the King's collection in 1640.
The present bronze corresponds to the V&A cast in its technical refinement as well as its general composition, though there are some differences, notably in the appearance of the lion skin, the absence of a club in the V&A example, and its inclusion of a quiver, which the present putto lacks. It is possible that the model was reimagined as the infant Hercules, though the present figure retains the wings characteristic of the god of love. A cast in gilt bronze whose composition closely follows the present lot was sold in these rooms on 8 July 1993 (lot 36) and subsequently with Daniel Katz Ltd.
RELATED LITERATURE
D. Chambers and J. Martineau (eds.), Splendours of the Gonzaga, exh. cat. Victoria and Albert Museum, 1981, p. 246, no. 279; European Sculpture, exh. cat. Daniel Katz Ltd, New York and London, 1996, no. 21