Marino Marini

Galleria Dello Scudo, Verona

Acquired from the above by the present owner in the 1990s

Eduard Trier, Marino Marini, Cologne, 1954, no. 19, illustration of another cast

Helmut Lederer & Eduard Trier, Marino Marini, Stuttgart, 1961, no. 79, illustration of another cast

Giovanni Carandente, Marino Marini, Milan, 1966, illustration of another cast pl. X

Patrick Waldberg, Herbert Read & Gualtieri di San Lazzaro, Marino Marini, Complete Works, New York, 1970, no. 289, illustration of another cast p. 366

Carlo Pirovano, Marino Marini, Scultore, Milan, 1972, no. 300, illustrations of another cast pp. 110 & 164

Ernesto Caballo, Marino Marini, London, 1980, illustration of another cast fig. 142

Lorenzo Papi, Marino Marini - Impressioni di Lorenzo Papi, Ivrea, 1987, illustration of another cast n.p.

Carlo Pirovano (ed.), Marino Marini. Catalogo del Museo San Pancrazio di Florence, Milan, 1988, illustration of another cast pl. 140

Fondazione Marino Marini (ed.), Marino Marini. Catalogue Raisonné of the Sculptures, Milan, 1998, no. 368b, illustration of another cast p. 257

Variegated brown patina with hand-chiselled highlights. This work is in very good condition.
"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."

Cavallo is a wonderfully dynamic variation on Marini's favourite theme of horses and riders, depicting the isolated figure of the animal after it had lost its rider. With the front of its body collapsing while its hind legs stand firmly grounded and upright, the horse is captured mid-fall. The pronounced diagonal of its figure and the backwards move of its head and elongated neck reflect the drama and tension of the moment. Furthermore, the extraordinary power and beauty of Cavallo lie in the careful rendering of its surface, showing the artist's characteristic hand-chiselling of the bronze exposing the shiny alloy beneath the patina. Amongst 20th century sculptors, Marini was one of the most actively involved in the finishing of his pieces before they left the foundry, often applying varying surface marks to his bronzes.

Carlo Pirovano wrote about this composition: 'This was a sculpture that was certainly elegant in its conception, involving the refined interplay of rhythms that reflected those of a ritual dance. Marino joyfully flaunts all the artifices of an explicit manneristic skill that finds liberative impetus in the colourful veil of the surfaces. In the middle of the tormented phase of his artistic career that swept away his ideals of classical equilibrium [...], Marino isolated one of the protagonists of the drama, the horse (he had already done this at the end of the Thirties, with the same symbolic implications), and, for an instant he gave it the role of the solo actor in what was virtually esoteric isolation' (C. Pirovano in Marino Marini, Mitografia (exhibition catalogue), Galleria dello Scudo, Verona, 1994-95, p. 84).

Of the six bronze casts of Cavallo, two are in museum collections: one in the Fondazione Marino Marini, Pistoia and one in The Museum of Art, San Diego. The polychrome plaster is in the Museo Marino Marini, Florence.