- 161
Ambrogio Borghi
Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 GBP
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Description
- Ambrogio Borghi
- Chioma di Berenice (Berenice's Tresses)
- plaster
Condition
Overall the condition of the plaster is good with dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. There are small chips and abrasions, and some larger chips and losses to the edges and sides of the base. The hands are cast in sections, there may be some restorations here, particularly to the thumbs. The arms are also cast in sections, joints are visible. There is a wash to the surface. There is some staining to the surface, particularly down the proper left side of the body from the bottom of the hair onwards. There are some further original joints visible, including one through the proper right thigh. There are some traces of darker pigment under the wash in areas, including to the hair.
"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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
Le corps de la statue est d'une beauté si parfaite, qu'on la croirait moulée sur la plus belle jeune fille de toute Italie.
Charles Blanc, 1878
The fame and popularity of Italian sculpture was much aided in the second half of the nineteenth century by the advent of the World Fairs. Vast numbers came to view the wonders of art and industry at exhibitions across Europe and as far afield as the United States and Australia. It was an incredible opportunity for artists and one which the Italian sculptors enthusiastically grasped, to great acclaim. Their dexterous feats of carving and emotionally sensitive rendering of narrative were exactly suited to a public who had purposefully come to be amazed and delighted. Chioma di Berenice was no exception.
Borghi sent four sculptures to the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1878, but it was the marble version of his Berenice which caught the attention of the critics. Pesquidoux prophesised that Berenice was the proof of a talent which would place Borghi amongst the most original and modern; and Blanc simply called it 'a prodigy.' The figure is distanced, goddess-like, but the curved body and outstretched arms overstep her column so much so that visitors to the Exposition Universelle could have had the impression that the figure might launch herself into the crowd.
As Maria Grazia Schinetti has written, Borghi's artistic language was one of 'sentiment' and 'sensation'. The subject of this narrative was particularly well-suited to the sculptor. Queen Berenice II of Egypt was the wife of Ptolemy III Euergetes, and the present sculpture illustrates a legend told of her famously beautiful hair. Fearing for her husband's life whilst he was on a military expedition in Syria, Berenice offered her hair to the gods for his safe return. When the locks mysteriously disappeared from the temple, the court astronomer explained the loss by saying that they had been wafted to the heavens and transformed into the constellation of Berenice. Borghi depicts the queen in the temple, an incense burner at her feet, in the intense anxiety of the moments before she sacrifices her hair.
Ambrogio Borghi was a pupil at the Accademia di Brera from 1861 to 1869. In 1871 he won the coveted Oggioni prize – a scholarship to study for three years in Rome. At the young age of 32, Borghi was given the chair of modelling at his alma mater and his pupils included Medardo Rosso. He was awarded a number of prestigious public commissions and won the competition to create the monument to Garibaldi in Milan, but died before he was able to complete it; he was only 38. Unlike some of his contemporaries, Borghi does not appear to have run a large workshop and produced only a few exhibition marbles. In his own lifetime he was best-known for his public monuments and his skill at modelling in clay, for which he was awarded the teaching position at the Accademia di Brera.
The original marble version of the Berenice was sold in these rooms on 17 May 2011, lot 60 for £553,250. The prime plaster version is held in the Serrone della Villa Reale, Monza (inv. no. DEF n.0696); it was recently included in the exhibition Sacro e Profano: Temi mitologici e religiosi dalle collezioni civiche monzesi at Villa Reale from October 2010 to January 2011. The high quality of the modelling would suggest that the present plaster was produced subsequent to this first plaster, possibly in connection with the bronze version of the model, the only known cast of which was sold in these rooms on 13thJune 2006. Its fresh lively surface provides a sense of Borghi's genius at rendering human flesh and movement, whilst the large scale continues creates a visual impact which to this day has the power to impress.
Charles Blanc, 1878
The fame and popularity of Italian sculpture was much aided in the second half of the nineteenth century by the advent of the World Fairs. Vast numbers came to view the wonders of art and industry at exhibitions across Europe and as far afield as the United States and Australia. It was an incredible opportunity for artists and one which the Italian sculptors enthusiastically grasped, to great acclaim. Their dexterous feats of carving and emotionally sensitive rendering of narrative were exactly suited to a public who had purposefully come to be amazed and delighted. Chioma di Berenice was no exception.
Borghi sent four sculptures to the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1878, but it was the marble version of his Berenice which caught the attention of the critics. Pesquidoux prophesised that Berenice was the proof of a talent which would place Borghi amongst the most original and modern; and Blanc simply called it 'a prodigy.' The figure is distanced, goddess-like, but the curved body and outstretched arms overstep her column so much so that visitors to the Exposition Universelle could have had the impression that the figure might launch herself into the crowd.
As Maria Grazia Schinetti has written, Borghi's artistic language was one of 'sentiment' and 'sensation'. The subject of this narrative was particularly well-suited to the sculptor. Queen Berenice II of Egypt was the wife of Ptolemy III Euergetes, and the present sculpture illustrates a legend told of her famously beautiful hair. Fearing for her husband's life whilst he was on a military expedition in Syria, Berenice offered her hair to the gods for his safe return. When the locks mysteriously disappeared from the temple, the court astronomer explained the loss by saying that they had been wafted to the heavens and transformed into the constellation of Berenice. Borghi depicts the queen in the temple, an incense burner at her feet, in the intense anxiety of the moments before she sacrifices her hair.
Ambrogio Borghi was a pupil at the Accademia di Brera from 1861 to 1869. In 1871 he won the coveted Oggioni prize – a scholarship to study for three years in Rome. At the young age of 32, Borghi was given the chair of modelling at his alma mater and his pupils included Medardo Rosso. He was awarded a number of prestigious public commissions and won the competition to create the monument to Garibaldi in Milan, but died before he was able to complete it; he was only 38. Unlike some of his contemporaries, Borghi does not appear to have run a large workshop and produced only a few exhibition marbles. In his own lifetime he was best-known for his public monuments and his skill at modelling in clay, for which he was awarded the teaching position at the Accademia di Brera.
The original marble version of the Berenice was sold in these rooms on 17 May 2011, lot 60 for £553,250. The prime plaster version is held in the Serrone della Villa Reale, Monza (inv. no. DEF n.0696); it was recently included in the exhibition Sacro e Profano: Temi mitologici e religiosi dalle collezioni civiche monzesi at Villa Reale from October 2010 to January 2011. The high quality of the modelling would suggest that the present plaster was produced subsequent to this first plaster, possibly in connection with the bronze version of the model, the only known cast of which was sold in these rooms on 13thJune 2006. Its fresh lively surface provides a sense of Borghi's genius at rendering human flesh and movement, whilst the large scale continues creates a visual impact which to this day has the power to impress.
RELATED LITERATURE
M. Schinetti, 'Un maestro poco conoscuito: Ambrogio Borghi altri meastri di fine '800', in G. Accame et al. ed., Due secoli di scultura, Milan, 1995, pp. 90-99; M. Schinetti, 'Ambrogio Borghi. Un contributo per la storia della scultura a Milano nel secondo Ottocento', in Arte lombarda, 1995, 2-4, pp. 140-146; M. Gardonio, Sculturi italiani alle Esposizioni Universali di Parigi 1855-1889, thesis, Università degli Studi di Trieste, 2008; V. Alfredo, Sacro e Profano, ex. cat., Monza, Serrone della Villa Reale, 2010