Marino Marini

Curt Valentin Gallery, New York

Imogene Coca, New York (purchased from the above on 10th September 1953)

Isaac Sidney 'Sid' & Florence Caesar, California (acquired from the above)

Acquired from the above by the present owner

New York, Curt Valentin Gallery, Marino Marini, 1953, no. 24

Umbro Apollonio, Marino Marini scultore, Milan, 1953, illustration of another cast pl. 94

Helmut Lederer & Eduard Trier, Marino Marini, London, 1961, illustration of another cast p. 70

Patrick Waldberg, Herbert Read & Gualtieri di San Lazzaro, Marino Marini, Complete Works, New York, 1970, no. 286, illustration of another cast p. 366

Abraham Marie Hammacher, Marino Marini Sculptures, paintings, drawings, New York, 1971, no. 172, the present cast illustrated p. 174

Carlo Pirovano, Marino Marini, scultore, Milan, 1972, no. 292

Giovanni Carandente, Marino Marini, Catalogue raisonné of the sculptures, Milan, 1998, no. 358, illustration of another cast

Dark brown-black patina, with painted black highlights in places. Some casting residues in the crevices and light dust consistent with age and handling. This work is in overall very good original 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."

Curt Valentin is regarded as one of the most significant dealers of Modern art active in the 1950s and, through his gallery in New York, he was responsible for Marino Marini’s great success in the United States. In Abraham Hammacher’s words, Valentin was: ‘the first dealer who had the foresight to exploit the mounting interest in sculpture, and who was able to overcome painting’s old ascendancy’ (quoted in Marino Marini Sculptures, paintings, drawings, New York, 1971, p. 27). Valentin and Marini met in Venice in 1948 on the occasion of the Biennale, where Marini had an entire room dedicated to his art, and there began a friendship that would last until Valentin’s premature death in 1954 whilst visiting the sculptor in Forte dei Marmi. 1948 turned out to be a pivotal year for the recognition and expansion of European art in the United States, and the impetus for post-war artistic renewal further strengthened with Marino’s close friend Alberto Giacometti’s first solo show in New York at the Pierre Matisse Gallery. Through Valentin’s close association with The Frank Perls Gallery in Hollywood, who organized the first West coast exhibition of the work of Marino Marini, they introduced the great European modern artists to the wider American public. The regeneration of sculpture as an artistic form amidst the exploration of the tension between figuration and abstraction was a central concern for these artists. The fragility of human life became a dominant artistic theme in this post-war period of uncertainty, regarded as paradigmatic of the increasingly prevalent Existential theories and mood that was sweeping from Paris across Europe. 

Having studied in Italy at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence as well as teaching at the Scuola d’Arte di Villa Reale in Monza, the traditions of classical and Etruscan art were engrained in Marini’s historical and visual vocabulary, of which the theme of the horse and rider was to become his leitmotif. In the years before and during the Second World War, Marini endowed his horses with a grace and poise that nodded to classical sculpture, referencing a past dominated by noblemen, and a romanticised vision of power and strength. Marini’s most important and enduring artistic theme is explored in the offered lot, Cavaliere, a dramatic example from 1951. It was only in the 1950s that Marini injected the subject of the horse and rider with an intensity and dynamism that reflected the post-war mood of anguish and instability. The present work is a wonderful example of the artist’s transition towards an expressive and dynamic style. The horse is firmly planted on the ground; its back curved in tension, with outstretched neck and head, whilst the rider is dynamically opposed, its arms outstretched in a dramatic gesture. This reversal of the power between the two creatures reflects man’s vulnerability and the uncertainty of the times that had such a profound effect on the artist and concurrently, through such juxtaposing poses, Marini conjures a certain harmony between the two figures.

As a continuation of the American legacy of Marini, the offered bronze was acquired from Valentin’s exhibition of the artist’s sculptures in 1953 by the comic actress Imogene Coca, before entering the collection of legendary ‘Sid’ Caesar in California, best known for his successful TV shows in the 1950s influencing a later generation of comic actors.

Two bronzes of this model reside in the Museo Marino Marini and the Galleria d’Arte Moderna in Milan.