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Thanks to Daniel Katz
Gallery’s efforts, a rare and exceptional Florentine gilt bronze group has
recently been attributed to Pietro Tacca. Tacca was the ‘primo scultore’ at the
Medici court about whom Marcel Reymond said: "On peut dire que Tacca est
le dernier grand artiste de l’�cole florentine. Il est le dernier qui ait fait
�uvre de cr�ateur. Apr�s lui l’�cole florentine perd toute vitalit�, elle
n’invente plus rien et se met � la remorque des autres �coles."
Pietro Tacca (b. 1577,
Carrara, d. 1640, Florence) was the chief pupil and follower of the great
sculptor Giambologna (Giovanni da Bologna, Jean Boulogne, b. ca. 1524, Douai,
d. 1608, Florence) who again was the creator of the Fountain of Neptune in
Bologna (1566), the ‘flying’ Mercury (1580, Bargello, Florence) and – a
masterpiece in the field of sculpture – Rape of the Sabine Woman (1583, Loggia
dei Lanzi, Florence).
Tacca was born as son of a
well-respected and wealthy citizen of Carrara. The city’s name is known
worldwide for its marble resources. Pietro’s father Jacopo Tacca wanted his son
to become a scholar, and Pietro quickly advanced in his studies. Yet, when he
got to know the sculptor Jacopo Piccardi – a frequent guest in the Tacca
household – Pietro lost interest in his studies and his wish to become a
sculptor himself increased. One day, Tacca was accidentally locked in the
artist’s atelier. Whereas he joyfully spent the time modelling sculptures that
day, it became clear to his parents that Tacca would finally give up his
studies and that he would turn to sculpture. Thus, Tacca was introduced to
Giambologna, whose pupil he became. Later he worked as assistant to Giambologna
in the execution of equestrian statues. As Tacca’s own equestrian sculptures
show, his stylistic development went along with great technical development.
Although Tacca had been trained to work both in marble and bronze, the latter
became his favoured material. His marble sculptures were usually done by his
assistants who followed his models and directions. Tacca built on Giambologna’s
Mannerist style, and added his own naturalistic components.
After Giambologna’s death,
Tacca completed a number of his master’s works and followed his position as sculptor
to the Medici Grand Dukes of Tuscany. Tacca’s works for them include the famous
Four Slaves (1615 – 1624) at the bottom of Giovanni Bandini’s marble statue of
Ferdinand I de’ Medici at Leghorn.
The Griffin is an animal that flies through the air.
It is fearsome to see for it has the body and
claws of the lion and the wings, head,
and fierce beak of the eagle.
All men should fear it because it feasts
upon them at any opportunity. It is also
extremely fond of eating horses.
(The Gryphon, Medieval Bestiary)
The extremely vivid bronze
group An African Horseman Attacked by a Lion shows a moor on the back of his
horse being attacked by a lion. Like the gryphon – a mythical beast,
half-ferocious lion and half-rapacious eagle – the lion can often be found as a
motif in the art and literature of the Middle Ages. The so-called "animal
meal" as it can be seen in the bronze group was a common motif in ancient
as well as medieval and Renaissance art.
An African Horseman
Attacked by a Lion has long been controversial concerning its attribution.
Initially and due to an enchased and defective cast in the collection of the
Philadelphia Art Museum, the composition was attributed to Bertoldo, and then,
later, to Rustici. When a much finer cast appeared in Belgium (now in the Hall
collection, New York), the Philadelphia model was assumed to be an unfinished
cast and possibly a model. The Belgian model was of a much higher quality and
suggested a late 16th/early 17th century Florentine work. The finest cast of
the group is now at the Daniel Katz Gallery in London, which attributes this
extraordinary work to Pietro Tacca. The influences which can be found in this
work, especially the sculptor’s apprenticeship under the influence of
Giambologna, provide the basis for this attribution:
Surely a response to
models by Giambologna, the present composition of An African Horseman Attacked
by a Lion integrates the specific model for an attacking lion used in
Giambolognia’s celebrated Lion Attacking a Horse and Lion attacking a bull
group. A further argument that strengthens the assumption that the present
composition stems from Pietro Tacca, is the presentation of an African, a
subject by no means common at that period, but one that closely relates to
Tacca’s works under Ferdinand II. Specifically, the Four Slaves at Livorno and
the Slave (1615 – 1623) at the Piazza della Darsena, Livorno.
Again, the emotional
intensity, anatomical correctness and vibrant energy which can be found in the
bronze statues for the Leghorn project, correlate with the indeed exceptional
emotional density and expression reflected by An African Horseman Attacked by a
Lion.
For further information:
Daniel Katz Ltd., 13 Old
Bond Street, London W1S 4SX, telephone: 020 7493 0688, website:
http://www.katz.co.uk
Comparative literature:
Avery, C. and Radcliffe,
A., Giambologna, sculptor to the Medici, 1529 – 1608,
(Arts Council, London,
1978).
Avery C., Giambologna,
(Florence, 1987).
Lewy, E., Pietro Tacca,
(Verlag Bachem, K�ln).
Torriti, P., Pietro Tacca
di Carrara, (Genova, 1975).
Watson, K. J., Pietro
Tacca, successor to Giovanni Bologna: the first twenty-five years in the Borgo
Pinti Studio: 1592 – 1617, (University of Pennsylvania, 1973).
Zock, K., European
Sculpture, (exhib. cat. Daniel Katz Ltd., London, 2003). |
