Pietro Cipriani (circa 1680 - before 1745) - Lot 102

Lot 102
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Estimation :
300000 - 400000 EUR
Pietro Cipriani (circa 1680 - before 1745) - Lot 102
Pietro Cipriani (circa 1680 - before 1745) Lucius Septimius Geta and Plautilla Pair of patinated bronze busts on pedestals mentioning GETA and PLAVTILLA Italy, Florence, circa 1720-1730 after the Antique H. 47 cm and 49 cm (bronze) Pietro Cipriani was one of the most sought-after sculptors of the collectors who made the Grand Tour at the beginning of the 18th century. In the 1720s his Florentine workshop was a must for the rich amateurs of the European aristocracy attracted by the fame of his bronzes inspired by the antique. He passed through the workshop of Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi and his reputation was well established. Prestigious commissions abounded, especially from England. It was Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi who recommended him to Lord Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, to carry out in his place the commission of a pair of life-size bronze statues after the Medici Venus and the Dancing Faun. Cipriani promised that these bronzes would be "...at least equivalent to what Soldani would have done, and more accurate than anything that has yet been done. We can assume that Lord Parker was satisfied with the result since he commissioned Cipriani to produce a pair of busts representing two characters from Roman history: Geta and Plautilla. This pair of busts, executed by the sculptor in 1722, is, to this day, the first and only other known version of the pair that we present. It was not, at the time, unusual to proceed with casting by means of "good hollow" or "piece" molds that could be reused to cast one or more other copies. The sculptor reproduces here in bronze with great accuracy the ancient busts of Plautilla and Geta. These two characters with tragic fates respectively wife and brother of the emperor Ca- racalla are both victims of the despot and murdered on his orders. In 1722, these two portraits became part of the collection of Cosimo III de' Medici and are now kept at the Uffizi Museum. The fonts are of exemplary quality and great precision. The technique of the cold chasing work is perfectly similar between the "Macclesfield pair" and the pair we are presenting. If Cipriani applies himself to re-produce the heritage of the Florentine know-how taken at the side of Soldani, we recognize here a very meticulous approach of the work of cold chasing which is particular to him and which one could compare to the work of goldsmiths. If the surface of the bronze is left free, untouched by any intervention after casting, in the hair and eyebrows, Cipria- ni underlines each of the strands by multiple small incisions parallel to each other. We also find in the two pairs of busts the same work of a great mastery of chiseling in the totality of the white, the irises and the pupils of the eyes. One could almost consider this unusual technique as a signature, so singular is it. Related literature: -Andrew Wilton, Ilaria Bignamini, Grand tour: the lure of Italy in the eighteenth century, cat. exp., London, Tate gallery, October 10, 1996-January 5, 1997, Rome, Palazzo delle esposizioni, February 5-April 7, 1997, London, Tate gallery, 1996 ; -Die Bronzen der Fürstlichen Sammlung Liechtenstein, cat. exp. Frankfurt, Museum alter Plastik, Frankfurt, Liebieghaus, 1986; -Giovanni Pratesi, Repertorio della scultura fiorentina del Seicento e del Settecento, Torino, U. Allemandi, 1993.
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