South German or Italian, 19th century

bearing escutcheons with coats of arms, which can probably be identified as those of the Ottolini-Visconti of Milan

Inventory of L. Bernheimer, at Palais Bernheimer, Lenbachplatz, Munich 

Given their placement outdoors, the condition of the bronzes is good overall. There is dirt and weathering to the surface throughout. The surface has darkened to a blackish colour in most areas, and there is green residue in other areas, notably the heads and the outstretched front legs and paws. There are a few areas with rust-coloured staining, notably around all the front paws. There is a corroded metal wire around one of the lions' proper left front paw to facilitate the attachment of the shield. The shields are cast separately. There is a loss to one of the scrolls at the bottom of one shield. There is a lacuna to one of the lions' tail. Several original casting plugs and inserts are visible, in particular to the tails and to one of the lions' forehead. There are also a few casting fissures and further minor lacunae. There are holes to the shields at the bottom for mounting. There is weathering also to the composite stone bases. There are several losses to the bases around the edges and corners, and further chips and abrasions throughout. The lions are not attached to the bases.
"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."

These magnificent bronze lions are inspired by the four monumental beasts which guard the gates of the west facade of the Residenz in Munich. Created by the celebrated Mannerist sculptors Hubert Gerhard (circa 1540/1550-1620) and Carlo di Cesare del Palagio (1538-1598), with vast escutcheons designed by Hans Krumper (circa 1570-1634), the Residenz beasts were originally intended for the tomb of Wilhelm V, Duke of Bavaria (1548-1629), and his wife Renata of Lorraine (1544-1602). When Wilhelm abdicated in 1597, however, the monument was abandoned and the lions dispersed, until they were positioned outside the Residenz by Wilhelm's son and successor, Duke Maximilian I (1573-1651). Dorothea Diemer has attributed the two lions flanking the North Gate to Hubert Gerhard, due to their relatively docile, trusting, expressions, whilst she has argued that the beasts guarding the South Gates can be ascribed to Carlo di Cesare del Palagio on the basis of their more agonistic, snarling, faces, which accord with the sculptor's wider oeuvre (Diemer, op. cit., vol. i, p. 319).

The present lions, with their creased, snarling, noses, and dynamic poses, turning towards each other, correspond more closely with those attributed by Diemer to Palagio, than to Gerhard's beasts. Whilst the Gerhard/ Palagio creatures clearly serve as the models for the Bernheimer Lions (they sit on the same shallow moulded plinths, with enormous shields inspired by Krumper's escutcheons), they do not follow their 16th-century equivalents slavishly. Rather, the manes are less stylised, and the tails are positioned differently to the Munich beasts, in crossing over the tops of the seated hind legs, as opposed to beneath and behind them. The slightly more naturalistic appearance of the Bernheimer lions may possibly be explained by the innovations in animalier sculpture made in the 19th century, chiefly by the French sculptor Antoine Louis Barye (1795-1875). The coats of arms supported by the Bernheimer lions are probably those of the Ottolini-Visconti family from Milan. Whilst this may indicate a North Italian origin for the Bernheimer lions, it seems more likely that they were cast in Munich, given the fact that they are inspired by famously Bavarian models. Revivals of great models from the Renaissance were much in vogue in the 19th-century, with the Bernheimer lions undoubtedly having been intended to guard the gates to a great residence, in the same way that heraldic beasts served to adorn European palaces throughout the 15th and 16th centuries. The Bernheimer Lions were recorded outside the Courtyard Entrance to the Palais Bernheimer by the early 20th century.

RELATED LITERATURE
J. R. Bliss, 'A gilt-bronze statuette of a heraldic lion from the circle of Hubert Gerhard', Source Notes in the History of Art, Vol. 28, No. 4, Summer 2009, pp. 16-23; D. Diemer, Hubert Gerhard und Carlo di Cesare del Palagio. Bronzeplastiker der Spätrenaissance, Berlin, 2002–2004, vol. i, p. 319, vol. ii, pp. 229, 372-376; J. Chipps-Smith, German Sculpture of the Later Renaissance c. 1520-1580. Art in the Age of Uncertainty, Princeton, 1994