Italian, Rome, circa 1700

Overall the condition of the bronze is good with wear and dirt to the surface consistent with age. There is some rubbing to the patina and there are several minor nicks and dents, including to the area around the proper right thigh and the edges of the base. There is some scratching to the patina around the saint's arms. There were some difficulties with casting the bronze so that a few areas needed to be patched or repaired with pins. These areas include the edge of the hood, the proper right shoulder and wrist, left elbow and edge of the cape on the reverse. The figure was made in sections; joints are visible at the Child's arms and underfoot, the saint's wrists, proper left index finger, around the book, and where the statuette meets the base. There is some movement in the book. The gilding on the base has some tarnishing.
"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."

This important Baroque bronze group represents the vision of St Anthony of Padua. The Portuguese-born Franciscan friar kneels before the standing Christ child and leans forward to kiss his Saviour's outstretched hand. The present bronze is very finely cast and was clearly conceived by a talented sculptor. Note the saint's sharply cast eyelids, his knotted cord, and, almost hidden from view, the rosary tied to his proper left hip. The sculptor has created a wonderful play of textures as the large angular folds of drapery rub against the delicately chased surface of the clouds. Much attention has been given to the eyes, which are either downcast with prominent hooded lids, as in the case of the saint and one cherub, or are open wide and carefully incised, as with the Christ and the remaining cherubim. However, the most beautiful detail is the saint's left sandal, which flexes as his foot bends to balance his body weight on his toes.

The tempered Baroque style of the present bronze places it within the sculptural tradition of Alessandro Algardi (1598-1654) and his followers, who followed a more classicising, restrained, approach than Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) and his school. Compare St Anthony's modest kneeling pose with Algardi's Christ in his bronze Baptism of Christ in the Cleveland Museum of Art (model: 1645-1646)(inv. no. 1965.471). The stylised gesture, outstretched fingers and downcast eyes are also paralleled in the present bronze. Note also the manner in which Algardi's putto reaches out to Jesus and gazes upwards at him. Such tactile infants are a feature of many Algardi groups and are inherited from the work of the earlier Rome-based sculptor François Duquesnoy (1597-1643). The generous drapery of the Franciscan habit find their precedent in Algardi's Altar of St Nicholas of Tolentino in the church of S. Nicola Tolentino, Rome (circa 1654). The cherubim heads and the consuming clouds are seen in the work of Melchiorre Cafà (1638-1667), the Maltese sculptor taught by Algardi's pupil Ercole Ferrata (1610-1686); see Cafà's Ecstasy of St Catherine of Siena in the church of S. Caterina da Siena a Monte Magnanapoli, Rome (1667). Note also how Cafà's monks wear elbow length hoods like St Anthony's in the present bronze (and in contrast to Algardi's shorter hoods); see Albert Clouet's engraving after the sculptor's Madonna and Child with five Peruvian candidates for sainthood of 1666 (Sciberras, op. cit., p. 141, fig. 168).

The present group is, however, somewhat more fluid than these earlier Baroque works, and exhibits greater spiritual drama with the multiple cherubs, and the fluttering pages of the book which conveniently supports St. Anthony's symbol, the lily. In this respect it should be compared with the work of a later generation of sculptors operating in Rome, chiefly that of the French sculptor Pierre Legros (1666-1719). Strikingly, Legros' portrait of St. Louis Gonzaga from his magnificent marble relief of St. Louis Gonzaga in Glory for the church of S. Ignazio, Rome (1698-1699), has a remarkably similar idealised youthful face with downcast eyes and prominent hooded eyelids. Note also the multiple wide-eyed putti. St Anthony's generous, slightly angular, folds of drapery, compare both with Legros' oeuvre and with works by his competitor Camillo Rusconi (1658-1728). Compare with Rusconi's St Ignatius Trampling Heresy in the Vatican (1728), constructed in conjunction with his brother Giuseppe; note also the similarly conceived books.

RELATED LITERATURE

R. Enggas, Early Eighteenth-Century Sculpture in Rome an illustrated catalogue raisonné, University Park and London, 1976, figs. 100, 102, 115, 117, 121, 127, 179-181, 214, 226-227; J. Montagu, Alessandro Algardi, New Haven and Yale, 1985, vol. i, pp. 184-186, vol. ii, pp. 310-315, 367-373, 380-382, 416-418, nos. 8, 66, 68, 75,134; O. Ferrari and S. Papaldo, Le sculture del Seicento a Roma, Rome, 1999, pp. 33-34, 96-97, 288, 364-365, 508