Lot n° 164
Estimation :
15000 - 20000
EUR
Result with fees
Result
: 18 032EUR
Attribué à Pietro BRACCI (1700-1773) - Lot 164
Attribué à Pietro BRACCI (1700-1773)
Portrait of Marquis Giuseppe Rondinini (1725-1801), Rome, circa 1757
White marble bust. Signed on the back "GMR" and in a cartouche on the front of the pedestal.
Surface wear and accidents to the nose and face.
H : 77 - W : 56 cm
Related literature :
- Luigi Salerno, Enrico Paribeni, Palazzo Rondinini, Roma, De Luca, 1965 ; - Mariano Vasi, Roma del Settecento, itinerario istruttivo di Roma, di Mariano Vasi romano, con note di Giugliemo Matthiae, Rome, 1970, pp. 40-42; - Franco Borsi, Gabriele Morolli, Cristina Acidini, Palazzo Rondinini, Editalia, 1983; - Edgar Peters Bowron and Joseph J.Rishel , Art in Rome in the eighteenth century, Merrel2000, pp. 122-124; - Daniela Candilio, Marina Bertinetti, I marmi antichi del Palazzo Rondinini, De Luca Editori d'Arte, 2011 ; - Iris Haist, Opere fatte di scultura da Pietro Bracci, -Skulptur im Kontext des Römischen Settecento, Inauguraldissertation der Philosophisch-historischen Fakultät der Universität Bern zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde, Von der Philosophisch-historischen Fakultät auf Antrag von Prof. Dr. Norberto Gramaccini, 2011. Dr. Norberto Gramaccini und Prof. Dr. Michael Hesse angenommen, Bern, 2015, work listed under no. 56 p. 331; - Cristiano Giometti (author), Loredana Lorizzo (author), Per diletto e per profitto. I Rondinini, l'arte e l'Europa, 2019.
This impressive marble bust represents the last descendant of the famous Rondinini family (also known as Rondanini), one of the greatest Roman collectors of the eighteenth century, the Marquis Giuseppe Rondinini. This art lover is identifiable thanks to the monogram "G.M.R" (for Giuseppe marquese Rondinini) on the reverse side and in the cartouche on the front, a monogram that he had affixed on the works of his famous collection which included, among others, Michelangelo's Pieta. Also recognizable on his suit is a brooch depicting one of the most famous ancient works still in existence today, the Medusa Rondanini (Glyptothek in Munich), a marble Medusa head dated to the fifth century B.C., widely admired by Goethe and once owned by the Marquis. This portrait depicts a man in his forties, in the prime of life, with a well rounded face, a lively and satisfied expression, and a bust dressed in a rich costume: lace shirt, flowery bib, drapery secured by a brooch, and, on the chest, the image of a woman surrounded by a laurel wreath held by a dove, probably an allegory of virtue or an image of another work in his collection. This bust shows a desire for personal affirmation and glorification of this powerful man, patron, collector and friend of the arts. It could be the bust of the marquis described by Vasi in the bedroom of Palazzo Rondinini (cf. Roma del Settecento, itinerario istruttivo di Roma, pp. 40-42). Pietro Bracci has recently been credited with the bust in Palazzo Rondinini by the artist's specialist Iris Heist. The work was considered lost or not yet identified by the researcher when she wrote the catalog raisonné of the artist's works in 2015 (Kat #56 p. 334). Her recent research, along with that of Cristiano Giometti and Loredana Lorizzo, has highlighted the close relationship woven between the art lover and the artist Pietro Bracci, considered "in the history of Italian sculpture as occupying a predominant position between Bernini and Canova" (Art in Rome in the eighteenth century, p.123). A student of Rusconi's until 1724, when he opened his own workshop, received first prize at the Concorso Clementino of the Accademia di San Luca in 1725, was appointed Accademico di Merito of San Luca in 1740, and Principe in 1756. Bracci left his mark on Rome with the construction of famous monuments, such as the Paolucci Monument and the Fountain of Trevis. He was also responsible for the restoration of ancient monuments such as the Arch of Constantine or the antiques in the collection of Cardinal Alessadro Albino. He excelled in the execution of portraits, such as the bust of Cardinal Giorgio Spinola in Subiaco or the bust of Pope Clement XIII.
Our bust bears the characteristics of the late Baroque style and complex composition that continued in Rome until the late eighteenth century. It is most likely the bust executed by Bracci, whose archives indicate that it was commissioned from the artist by the marquis in December 1757 (Capranica archives, Fondo Rondanini, b.816, f.329; B.816, f.330, f.356 cited in Iris Haist, Op cit. p. 334).
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