Italian, Perhaps Lombard, 16th Century

Galerie Kugel, Paris;

From whom acquired by Aso O. Tavitian, 6 June 2007.

Small marble panels in high relief depicting mythological subjects were extremely popular in the North of Italy in the 1520s. They were generally produced for cultured patrons, with themes drawn from classical literary sources. It seems likely that works of this nature – especially given their small size – were used to decorate the studioli of the most important members of the intellectual aristocracy. These private spaces, usually housing written material and antique curiosities, were furnished with works of modern sculpture when antique pieces became difficult to source.

Inspired by the Antique Roman sculptures of Venus at her Bath, this small, engaging relief displays the artist’s familiarity with North Italian sculpture by the Lombardo family. Led by Pietro (1435-1515) but best known through the sculpture of his sons Antonio (1458-1516) and Tullio (1455-1532), this premier family of artists were active in the Veneto from the latter part of the 15th century to the second quarter of the 16th century. Their prominence and classicizing style influenced their contemporaries working in the region, including Simone Bianco (active 1512-1553) and Gianmaria Mosca (1495/99 – after 1573).

RELATED LITERATURE

A. Markham Schulz, Giammaria Mosca called Padovano: A Renaissance Sculptor in Italy and Poland, 2 vols., Pennsylvania 1998, no. 1, p. 61;

M. Ceriana, Il camerino di alabastro: Antonio Lombardo e la scultura all'antica, Milan 2004;

A. Luchs, Tulio Lombardo and Venetian High Renaissance Sculpture, exh. cat., National Gallery of Art, Washington 4 July - 31 October 2009.