Attributed to Pietro Tacca

Exhibited by Stuart Lochhead Sculpture

Material Gilt and patinated bronze

Dimensions 51 cm

Place of Creation Italy

Status Vetted

About the Work

Several variations of this model exist with only minor differences in finish. Some are gilt, like the present version, while others are silver-plated or entirely made of silver. Two of the best surviving examples, currently in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Louvre in Paris, can be compared to the present one in light of the gilding, overall height and modelling of the tree trunk.

The fact that several versions survive indicates the popularity of this composition, which was achieved in a highly sought-after and accomplished workshop. Documentary and stylistic evidence allows us to attribute the figure to Pietro Tacca, the great Florentine sculptor of the early seventeenth century who inherited Giambologna’s workshop in Florence.

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Provenance

Aristocratic Family, Germany, as of 2014
Private collection, New York, acquired in 2020

Literature

Frits Scholten, ‘Pietro Tacca, attributed, St Sebastian’ [catalogue entry], in Frits Scholten and Monique Verber (eds.), From Vulcan’s Forge: Bronzes from the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1450-1800, London, 2005, pp. 78-81.