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拍品專文
This elegant marble figure of Justice, identifiable by its attributes of sword and scales, was cautiously attributed to Giovanni Bertini by Giulietta Chelazzi Dini in 2001, based on its strong similarities to the Theological and Cardinal Virtues on the tomb of King Robert the Wise of Anjou in the church of Santa Chiara in Naples. The tomb of Robert of Anjou is the only work by the Florentine brothers Giovanni and Pacio Bertini that is securely documented. Despite being their only documented work, the prestige, scale, and complexity of this commission suggest that they must have been involved in other highly important sculptural commissions, and a number of other works have been attributed to them based on stylistic affinities with elements from this tomb. Shortly after King Robert’s death in 1343, his niece Giovanna I commissioned the Bertinis to design and build the tomb. The relief figures on the front of the sarcophagus, the recumbent effigy of the king, the angels holding curtains, the enthroned king, and the gable relief have been attributed to Pacio. Other elements, such as the six Virtues that support the sarcophagus, and to which the present lot bears such a strong resemblance, have been attributed to Giovanni.
The pose, the arrangement of the drapery, the facial features, the expression, and the hairstyle of the present lot are all extremely similar to elements in the Virtues from King Robert’s tomb. These connections are especially evident when comparing the present lot with the figures of Temperance and Prudence on the tomb. All of the Virtues are shown standing, holding their attributes in front of them, with one hand above the other. Like the tomb figures of Temperance and Prudence, Justice wears a long, loose-fitting robe, gathered at the waist, with a scooped neckline and long sleeves. Justice and the Virtues from King Robert’s tomb all have full, oval faces with little delineation of the bone structure beneath, and large, wide-set eyes with strongly defined upper lids.
The Bertinis must have employed a very large workshop to complete the tomb of Robert of Anjou, as it contains an extraordinary number of figures and reliefs. Even if one assumes that the tomb’s most important elements were completed by the Bertini brothers themselves, rather than by members of their workshop, distinguishing between Giovanni’s and Pacio’s hands is impossible to do with full certainty. This task is further complicated by the significant damage the tomb sustained during World War II.
The presence of a console behind the head of Justice suggests that it once served as a supporting element for a sarcophagus in a wall tomb or a freestanding monument, where it almost certainly would have been accompanied by one or more of the other cardinal virtues.
We are grateful to Dr. Andrew Butterfield and Jeanette Sisk for their significant contributions to this essay.
The pose, the arrangement of the drapery, the facial features, the expression, and the hairstyle of the present lot are all extremely similar to elements in the Virtues from King Robert’s tomb. These connections are especially evident when comparing the present lot with the figures of Temperance and Prudence on the tomb. All of the Virtues are shown standing, holding their attributes in front of them, with one hand above the other. Like the tomb figures of Temperance and Prudence, Justice wears a long, loose-fitting robe, gathered at the waist, with a scooped neckline and long sleeves. Justice and the Virtues from King Robert’s tomb all have full, oval faces with little delineation of the bone structure beneath, and large, wide-set eyes with strongly defined upper lids.
The Bertinis must have employed a very large workshop to complete the tomb of Robert of Anjou, as it contains an extraordinary number of figures and reliefs. Even if one assumes that the tomb’s most important elements were completed by the Bertini brothers themselves, rather than by members of their workshop, distinguishing between Giovanni’s and Pacio’s hands is impossible to do with full certainty. This task is further complicated by the significant damage the tomb sustained during World War II.
The presence of a console behind the head of Justice suggests that it once served as a supporting element for a sarcophagus in a wall tomb or a freestanding monument, where it almost certainly would have been accompanied by one or more of the other cardinal virtues.
We are grateful to Dr. Andrew Butterfield and Jeanette Sisk for their significant contributions to this essay.