.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
拍品专文
Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi (1386 or 1387 – 1466) – popularly known as Donatello, was one of the most important proponents of the early Renaissance in Florence. Versatile in a number of different media, he was able to produce monumental free-standing marbles and intimate bronze reliefs. His works display an enormous empathy for his subjects and he was consistently able to convey a strong narrative through his compositions, and details which were often picked out with only a deft mark of the chisel or stylus. His knowledge - and re-interpretation - of classical sources meant he was one of the most innovative artists of his day.
The present terracotta head of a youth is a rare survival from Donatello’s artistic milieu. It appears to have been hand-modelled, with details such as the eyebrows incised into the terracotta, probably while it was in its ‘leather’ state. It is also apparent that the distinctive flame-like locks of hair were applied to a pre-existing head. The join between the hair and the scalp would be a natural point of weakness and it is likely that the hair toward the front of the head came off at the same time as the damage to the nose and chin. The fact that these hand-modeled details exist suggest that this is a unique piece.
Donatello had a long and prolific career and details of the present head recall various of his works over the decades from the 1410s to the 1450s. Among these, one might look to the marble figure of St George, commissioned circa 1414 for a niche on the façade of the Orsanmichele in Florence (now Bargello; for images see Pope-Hennessy, op. cit., figs. 32-37). His youthful beauty, curls of hair, voluptuous lips and slight air of expectancy all find parallels in the present head. Similarly, the gilt-bronze reliquary bust of St. Rossore of circa 1426-27 (see ibid., pp. 71-73 and fig. 63) displays a very similar shape to the head, delineation of the eyes and classicizing hair style. Finally, Donatello’s masterpiece of circa 1447-1553, the equestrian bronze monument known as the Gattamelata (Piazza del Santo, Padua), finds parallels in the present lot including the thickly modelled curls of hair and even the unusual detail of lines incised into the upper eyelids to suggest eyelashes.
It seems clear that the author of this idealized image of youthful male beauty had direct knowledge of the innovations being introduced by Donatello and was deeply influenced by them. It remains a fragile glimpse into the artistic world of Florence in the middle of the 15th century.
The present terracotta head of a youth is a rare survival from Donatello’s artistic milieu. It appears to have been hand-modelled, with details such as the eyebrows incised into the terracotta, probably while it was in its ‘leather’ state. It is also apparent that the distinctive flame-like locks of hair were applied to a pre-existing head. The join between the hair and the scalp would be a natural point of weakness and it is likely that the hair toward the front of the head came off at the same time as the damage to the nose and chin. The fact that these hand-modeled details exist suggest that this is a unique piece.
Donatello had a long and prolific career and details of the present head recall various of his works over the decades from the 1410s to the 1450s. Among these, one might look to the marble figure of St George, commissioned circa 1414 for a niche on the façade of the Orsanmichele in Florence (now Bargello; for images see Pope-Hennessy, op. cit., figs. 32-37). His youthful beauty, curls of hair, voluptuous lips and slight air of expectancy all find parallels in the present head. Similarly, the gilt-bronze reliquary bust of St. Rossore of circa 1426-27 (see ibid., pp. 71-73 and fig. 63) displays a very similar shape to the head, delineation of the eyes and classicizing hair style. Finally, Donatello’s masterpiece of circa 1447-1553, the equestrian bronze monument known as the Gattamelata (Piazza del Santo, Padua), finds parallels in the present lot including the thickly modelled curls of hair and even the unusual detail of lines incised into the upper eyelids to suggest eyelashes.
It seems clear that the author of this idealized image of youthful male beauty had direct knowledge of the innovations being introduced by Donatello and was deeply influenced by them. It remains a fragile glimpse into the artistic world of Florence in the middle of the 15th century.