South German, second half 16th century

Paul Wallraf Collection, London

Overall the condition of the bronze is very good. There is some minor wear and dirt consistent with age. The joint of the seperately cast tail is slightly visible.
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After Leonardo's abandoned project of an equestrian monument with the horse in a rearing position, the wild, rearing horse became a favourite subject of animalier bronze sculpture especially in Northern Europe in the late 16th and the 17th centuries. Different examples attributed to Barthelemy Prieur, Francesco Fanelli and other artists highlight the wide range of diverse artistic renderings inspired by this subject. The theme was particularly popular in Germany, where bronze horses were often used together with other domestic and exotic fauna for fountains of animals. Three rearing horses from the fanciful Animal Fountain (c. 1570-90) in the garden of Schloss Hesse are now in the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, Braunschweig (inv. no. Bro 142-144). A rearing horse from a similar fountain in the garden of the Schloss in Stuttgart is now in the local Landesmuseum (inv. no. KK 25). All these bronze animals were cast in Augsburg in the second half of the 16th century, and are often hypothetically ascribed to the foundries of Marx Labenwolf the Younger and Hans Reisinger.

Apart from fountain figures, which were originally piped, rearing horses were also cherished as table bronzes. A large German example with a rougher treatment of the mane and the tail was offered in these rooms on 18 March 1976, lot 160. The present bronze is particularly close in style to a Rearing Stallion formerly with Daniel Katz Ltd (see Lochhead, op. cit.). Both these examples do not show the arteries on the abdomen and the creases on the neck, which are characteristic for the rearing horses in Braunschweig and Stuttgart. However, as far as the proportions of the head and the calligraphic treatment of the mane are concerned, this extremely rare bronze does show similarities to these fountain horses.

RELATED LITERATURE
H.R. Weihrauch, Europäische Bronzestatuetten. 15.-18. Jahrhundert, Brunswick, 1967, pp. 317-19, figs. 383, 385 and 387; U. Berger & V. Krahn, Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum Braunschweig. Bronzen der Renaissance und des Barock. Katalog der Samlung, Braunschweig 1994,  nos. 167-81, pp. 209-22; S. Lochhead, ed., European Sculpture, exh. cat. Daniel Katz Ltd, London, 2000, no. 22