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Lot Essay
The present pair of marble busts – which have remained relatively unknown in an aristocratic English collection for almost three hundred years – are presented here as one of the most important examples of Roman baroque sculpture to appear on the art market. They are convincingly attributed to the sculptor Giuliano Finelli (died 1653), who was known for the virtuosity of his carving and for his collaboration with Gianlorenzo Bernini on some of the most celebrated sculpture created in the 17th century.
Giuliano Finelli was born in Carrara and trained with his uncle, a stone-cutter, who clearly endowed the young prodigy with an understanding of marble and the limits to which it could be pushed. Finelli next moved to Naples, where he trained with the prominent sculptor Michelangelo Naccherino, before arriving in Rome in 1622. Among the large community of talented carvers in Rome at the time, Finelli immediately distinguished himself, and he was quickly employed by Gianlorenzo Bernini who was himself embarking on one of the most fruitful periods of his career.
Already well-known in Rome, from 1618 Bernini was employed by Cardinal Scipione Borghese to create a series of marble groups for his villa on the outskirts of Rome. The first of these, Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius leaving Troy (1618-19), and Pluto and Proserpina (1621-1622), were executed before the arrival of Finelli. However, perhaps the most breath-taking of the Borghese groups was the Apollo and Daphne (1622-1624; all three groups Galeria Borghese, Rome) for which Finelli was asked to do much of the carving. His understanding of the medium of marble, and his ability to perforate and undercut the stone while maintaining its structural integrity meant that he was able to create the roots springing from Daphne’s toes and the leaves springing from her hair and outstretched hands in a way that caused a sensation.
Finelli continued to work with Bernini until 1629, at which point he set himself up as an independent sculptor. He established a flourishing career executing works for churches and other religious institutions, as well as portrait busts and funeral monuments for private individuals. Among his most important commissions was for two marble figures of SS. Peter and Paul, along with 13 bronze saints for the chapel of the Tesoro di San Gennaro, Naples (1638-48, all in situ).
Fascinatingly, the present two heads of philosophers were purchased by the 10th Earl of Derby in 1726 as works by Gianlorenzo Bernini, and they have remained in the possession of his descendants to the present day. They relate closely to another pair of busts of philosophers on long term loan to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (for an illustration of one, see fig. 1). Like the present busts, the Rijksmuseum busts are characterful representations of philosophers from classical antiquity. They display the same short, rounded truncations, and all four are placed on similar, highly distinctive circular socles of differing marbles. By 1638, the Amsterdam busts were in the collection of Joachim van Sandrart, who probably acquired them during his time in Rome between 1629 and 1635 (Caravaggio - Bernini, op. cit., no. 68). Although the 17th century provenance of the present pair of busts is not known, their close similarity in terms of subject, form, and display begs the question of whether the four busts once formed a set, or were at least created in the same immediate milieu.
However, despite the many similarities between the two pairs of busts, there are sufficient differences between them to suggest they are by different hands. In the exhibition at the Rijksmuseum, Frits Scholten argues that the Amsterdam philosophers were carved by Orfeo Boselli, but that the models were the invention of Francois Du Quesnoy, the celebrated Flemish sculptor who also spent much of his working life in Rome. Scholten argues: ‘The noble features and proportions given to the two philosophers’ heads very clearly reflect the artistic ideal championed by Du Quesnoy and his kindred spirits: a classicism based solely on pure Greek art, la maniera greca’ (ibid, no. 68).
By contrast, the present pair of busts are notable not for their calm classicism but for the nervous energy of the carving and the characterful realism of the faces. The sculptor seems intentionally to have left tool marks in the hair and beard to give them a sparkling dynamism, a characteristic which can also be seen, for example, in the hair of the putti Finelli executed for the tomb of Ottaviano Ubaldinis (Sta. Maria sopra Minerva, Rome, see Dombrowski, op. cit., figs. 8-12). The faces of the philosophers are beautifully modelled, with furrowed brows and sunken eyes that suggest the passage of time spent in deep concentration. This realism finds a direct counterpart in Finelli’s marble figures of SS. Peter and Paul mentioned above, which were executed in the late 1630s in Naples (see ibid, figs. 183-186, 189, 190).
A further close comparison can be made with the bust of another philosopher in the collection of the Prado Museum, Madrid, which depicts the Pseudo-Seneca and is also attributed to Finelli (Caravaggio - Bernini, op. cit., no. 69). That bust, although displayed on an alabaster base which is probably later, has all the hallmarks of the busts offered here: the short, rounded truncation, the obsessively undercut carving of the hair and beard, and the subtle modelling of the undulating skin passages which suggest the psychological state of the sitter.
The appearance of the busts offered here, representing neither religious nor contemporary subjects, marks an important addition to a little-explored area of Finelli’s oeuvre, and confirms his place as one of the most virtuoso carvers of the 17th century.
We are grateful to Sir Nicholas Penny and Dr. Frits Scholten for independently confirming the attribution of the present busts to Finelli.
Giuliano Finelli was born in Carrara and trained with his uncle, a stone-cutter, who clearly endowed the young prodigy with an understanding of marble and the limits to which it could be pushed. Finelli next moved to Naples, where he trained with the prominent sculptor Michelangelo Naccherino, before arriving in Rome in 1622. Among the large community of talented carvers in Rome at the time, Finelli immediately distinguished himself, and he was quickly employed by Gianlorenzo Bernini who was himself embarking on one of the most fruitful periods of his career.
Already well-known in Rome, from 1618 Bernini was employed by Cardinal Scipione Borghese to create a series of marble groups for his villa on the outskirts of Rome. The first of these, Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius leaving Troy (1618-19), and Pluto and Proserpina (1621-1622), were executed before the arrival of Finelli. However, perhaps the most breath-taking of the Borghese groups was the Apollo and Daphne (1622-1624; all three groups Galeria Borghese, Rome) for which Finelli was asked to do much of the carving. His understanding of the medium of marble, and his ability to perforate and undercut the stone while maintaining its structural integrity meant that he was able to create the roots springing from Daphne’s toes and the leaves springing from her hair and outstretched hands in a way that caused a sensation.
Finelli continued to work with Bernini until 1629, at which point he set himself up as an independent sculptor. He established a flourishing career executing works for churches and other religious institutions, as well as portrait busts and funeral monuments for private individuals. Among his most important commissions was for two marble figures of SS. Peter and Paul, along with 13 bronze saints for the chapel of the Tesoro di San Gennaro, Naples (1638-48, all in situ).
Fascinatingly, the present two heads of philosophers were purchased by the 10th Earl of Derby in 1726 as works by Gianlorenzo Bernini, and they have remained in the possession of his descendants to the present day. They relate closely to another pair of busts of philosophers on long term loan to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (for an illustration of one, see fig. 1). Like the present busts, the Rijksmuseum busts are characterful representations of philosophers from classical antiquity. They display the same short, rounded truncations, and all four are placed on similar, highly distinctive circular socles of differing marbles. By 1638, the Amsterdam busts were in the collection of Joachim van Sandrart, who probably acquired them during his time in Rome between 1629 and 1635 (Caravaggio - Bernini, op. cit., no. 68). Although the 17th century provenance of the present pair of busts is not known, their close similarity in terms of subject, form, and display begs the question of whether the four busts once formed a set, or were at least created in the same immediate milieu.
However, despite the many similarities between the two pairs of busts, there are sufficient differences between them to suggest they are by different hands. In the exhibition at the Rijksmuseum, Frits Scholten argues that the Amsterdam philosophers were carved by Orfeo Boselli, but that the models were the invention of Francois Du Quesnoy, the celebrated Flemish sculptor who also spent much of his working life in Rome. Scholten argues: ‘The noble features and proportions given to the two philosophers’ heads very clearly reflect the artistic ideal championed by Du Quesnoy and his kindred spirits: a classicism based solely on pure Greek art, la maniera greca’ (ibid, no. 68).
By contrast, the present pair of busts are notable not for their calm classicism but for the nervous energy of the carving and the characterful realism of the faces. The sculptor seems intentionally to have left tool marks in the hair and beard to give them a sparkling dynamism, a characteristic which can also be seen, for example, in the hair of the putti Finelli executed for the tomb of Ottaviano Ubaldinis (Sta. Maria sopra Minerva, Rome, see Dombrowski, op. cit., figs. 8-12). The faces of the philosophers are beautifully modelled, with furrowed brows and sunken eyes that suggest the passage of time spent in deep concentration. This realism finds a direct counterpart in Finelli’s marble figures of SS. Peter and Paul mentioned above, which were executed in the late 1630s in Naples (see ibid, figs. 183-186, 189, 190).
A further close comparison can be made with the bust of another philosopher in the collection of the Prado Museum, Madrid, which depicts the Pseudo-Seneca and is also attributed to Finelli (Caravaggio - Bernini, op. cit., no. 69). That bust, although displayed on an alabaster base which is probably later, has all the hallmarks of the busts offered here: the short, rounded truncation, the obsessively undercut carving of the hair and beard, and the subtle modelling of the undulating skin passages which suggest the psychological state of the sitter.
The appearance of the busts offered here, representing neither religious nor contemporary subjects, marks an important addition to a little-explored area of Finelli’s oeuvre, and confirms his place as one of the most virtuoso carvers of the 17th century.
We are grateful to Sir Nicholas Penny and Dr. Frits Scholten for independently confirming the attribution of the present busts to Finelli.