Italian, Tuscan, late 16th century

The key to the attribution of these two figures lies in the distinctive treatment to the heads, hands and feet which appear to have been modelled by a sculptor trained north of the alps but active in Italy.  The facture of the bronzes suggest an Italian, probably Florentine origin. A number of candidates have been suggested, not least Willem van Tetrode (1525-1580) whose figure of Christ at the column and the Striding Warrior have distinctively similar faces and treatment to the hands and feet.

In 2004 these finely chased bronze figures were published in Dorothy Diemer’s monograph on Hubert Gerhard and Carlo Palagio and were attributed to a South German, Augsburg workshop, associated with a sculptor working within the circle of Franz Anspruck; Anspruck of Flemish origin worked in Augsburg between 1598 and 1604.  They can certainly be stylistically compared to the figures of the Prophets by Carlo Palagio which are in the Wettiner Chapel in Freiburg Dom of 1592-3 (Diemer op.cit. 295a-d) but the drapery is far more classical than that employed by Gerhard and Palagio.  Note also the treatment to the drapery on the tomb of Dr. Thomas Mermann of 1596 in the Diocesan Museum in Freiburg by Gerhard (ibid. plate 192c). Further comparisons have been made, both as to the facture and style, with the work the Florentine sculptor Felice Traballesi who died in 1600 and who was working for Duke William of Bavaria ( 1579-1597) in Munich between 1597and 1598.  Note in particular the relief of The Raising of the Dead Daughter of Jarus in the St.Michael’s church in Munich illustrated by Diemer (plates 193a & b, cat. G12F).

Nevertheless these figures of St. Peter and St. Paul have more in common with North Italian bronzes, in particular the Venetian style of the compositions following in the footsteps of Jacopo Sansovino.  However the lightness of the casts and the fine after work are inconsistent with known Venetian facture and are closer to that found in Florentine bronzes and it has been suggested that the present bronzes originate from a Tuscan workshop working immediately within the remit of the Venetian sculptor Tiziano Aspetti in his period in Pisa. Felice Palma (1583-1625) of Tuscan origin and who trained with Aspetti  has been proposed and indeed the face of his standing figure of Noah in the Royal Ontario Museum can be closely compared with the faces of the present figures.  However the treatment to the drapery of Noah is far more fluid and loose and the cast is more waxy with less chasing than is evident in the figures of St. Peter and St.Paul.

The sculptor of these impressive figures has indeed have more in common with the work of Tetrode in particular with the figure of Christ at the column in the Hearn family Trust Collection New York and illustrated by Scholten (fig.77, p.64); note in particular the distinctive parallel lines chased on His perizonium with that employed on the robes of the present figures. In addition the treatment to the hair and the almost chinless profile.  A further comparison can be made with Tetrode’s Striding Warrior ( ibid.p.54-55), in particular the treatment to the hair, the furrowed brow, the eyebrows and drooping moustache which are also found on the present figures, in addition to the oversized hands and feet. The recent exhibition in Amsterdam has at last contributed to our knowledge of his work but there is far more to learn about his work and not least about the sculptors who worked immediately within his circle and influence.

RELATED LITERATURE
B.Boucher, The sculpture of Jacopo Sansovino, 2 vols, London, 1991, Vol.II, pp.319-320 and 354 cat. nos 9 & 62; G.Pratesi,  Scultura Fiorentina del Seicento e Settecento,Florence 1993, Vol. III, plate 376 and 377; F.Scholten, Willem van Tetrode, sculptor, ex. cat. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 2003, pp.48- 52, cat.nos. 34-36 and 38