Giacomo Zoffoli (1731-1785) - Lot 31

Giacomo Zoffoli (1731-1785) Flying Mercury after Giambologna (1529-1608) Bronze with light-brown patina shaded with green Signed "G. ZOFFOLI". H. 53 cm Minor oxidation Related work : -Giovanni di Bologna known as Giambologna, Mercury, bronze, H. 170 cm, Florence, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Inv. Bronzi 449. Related literature: -Charles Avery, "Bronze Statuettes in Woburn Abbey: Attributions to Taddeo Landini and Giuseppe de Levis", in Apollo, n°264, February 1984, pp. 97-103 ; -Charles Avery, Studies in European Sculpture, vol. II, 1988, pp. 265-272; -Anthony Radcliffe, The Treasure Houses of Britain: Five hundred years of patronage and Art Collecting, cat. exp., Washington, The National Gallery, November 1985 - March 1986, New Haven, Yale University Press, p. 386 ; -Ingo Pfeiffer, Von allen Seiten schön - Bronzen der Renaissance und des Barok, Berlin, Staatliche Museen, 1995, pp. 610-611 ; -Francis Haskell, Nicholas Penny, Taste and The Antique: The Lure of Classical Sculpture, 1500-1900, New Haven, Yale universitu press, 1981; -List of works for sale in the studio of Giovanni Zoffoli, 1795, London, Victoria and Albert Museum, inv. Print Room D.1479.1898. Note: An absolute masterpiece of Mannerist sculpture, Jean de Bologne's Mercury is a three-dimensional interpretation of the figure of Mercury painted by Raphael for the Villa Farnesine in the early 16th century. A veritable challenge to the laws of balance, Jupiter's messenger god, his right arm raised, index finger pointing skywards, rests on the ball of his left foot, giving the impression of defying weightlessness. By the 17th century, the sculpture was known throughout Europe, thanks to the numerous reductions offered by the Medici as diplomatic gifts. It was no doubt due to this singular popularity that the work entered the catalog of the famous foundryman Giacomo Zoffoli, who specialized exclusively in antique copies in the mid-18th century. Assisted by his nephew Giovanni (1749-1819), Zoffoli was then at the head of a major foundry, visited by all the wealthy amateurs on the "Grand Tour". The fashion at the time was for small bronzes, and collectors were keen on reductions based on the most recently discovered antiques. After trained as a silversmith, Zoffoli, following in the footsteps of Massimiliano Soldani Benzi (1656-1740), successfully continued the great Florentine bronze tradition. Zoffoli's training as a silversmith is evident here, and he offers us more than a copy of an objet d'art. with the most innovative and accomplished techniques of the late 18th century. Our statuette is cast with virtuosity, the chasing is nervous and precise and the patina rich and deep. patina. Experts : Messieurs Antoine Lescop de Moy et Alexandre Lacroix