Applique Bronze Figuring A Laureate And Battleship Horseman

Applique bronze depicting a laureate and battleship rider Italy, late 16th early 17th century Lost wax casting. Height of the base: 6 cm Height of the bronze: 9 cm Length of the bronze: 8.2 cm Beautiful patina, very rare. The object is presented on a 17th century ivory and ebony plinth. Laureate, dressed in a breastplate from which emerges a collar, the rider is seated on a passing horse and raising his right paw. The care given to the casting evokes the art of medals, plaques and other small bronzes produced in particular in Italy from the Renaissance. Although our copy appears unique, we have found in the series of plaques attributed to John of Bologna and known as the Acts of Francis I of Medici (Bargello n ° 104-109, dated between 1585-1587) a similar physical type combined with the representation of period costumes. But it is above all through the models of great equestrian statuary that we can establish parallels. There is indeed a very stable composition, a restrained dynamism, giving the whole strength and majesty. Let us quote the equestrian statue of Rodomonte Gonzague preserved in the ducal palace of Sabbioneta: the attitude of the horse, the position of the rider, his armor, the features of his face are almost identical, except that our rider has a laurel wreath. For compositions that are also very close, we can cite the famous equestrian monument of Cosimo I de Medici by John of Bologna and inaugurated in 1594 in Piazza della Signoria in Florence, or the monument of Ferdinand I de Medicis by John of Bologna and Pierro Tacca and installed in 1608 in Piazza della Santissima Annunziata. Our bronze is therefore a transposition of these famous models in the field of small metallic plastic.