TOMASSO: The More a Thing is Perfect

TOMASSO: The More a Thing is Perfect

French, 18th century, After the Antique

The Borghese Gladiator

Lot Closed

April 29, 02:48 PM GMT

Estimate

10,000 - 15,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

French, 18th century

After the Antique

The Borghese Gladiator


bronze, on an associated rouge griotte marble base with ormolu mounts

bronze: 51.5 by 54 cm., 20¼ by 21¼ in.

base: 12.5 by 46.5 by 19 cm., 5 by 18¼ by 7½ in.

E. Tarizzo and A. Popa, The Sculpture Museum, cat. Tomasso Brothers Fine Art, London, 2020, no. 2
Among the celebrated statues from antiquity, the Borghese Gladiator is perhaps the most admired for its accurate rendering of the human anatomy. The arresting figure of a sinewy young man leaning forward in an elegant, dynamic pose has historically been identified as a gladiator, an athlete, and an epic hero. Today it is thought that the marble depicts a swordman raising his shield and is a late Hellenistic work in the style of the influential 4th-century BC sculptor Lysippos. The Borghese Gladiator was first recorded in 1611 and soon after entered the Borghese collection. With its prominent placement in the Villa Borghese, the statue’s fame developed rapidly. It was extolled by an illustrious audience that included Gianlorenzo Bernini, whose David was inspired by the Gladiator, and plaster casts were used in the Academies’ life classes in the 18th century. Within 20 years of its discovery, a bronze cast was made for Charles I, bringing enthusiasm for the model to England. In 1807 the Gladiator was bought by Napoleon and left Rome for Paris, where it remains one of the most treasured antiquities in the Louvre (inv. no. MR 224).
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