TUSCANIAN BRONZE ARTIST, XVI-XVII CENTURY, Prancing horse

Bronze, black bituminous coating. Well worn. 19 x 23,5 x 14 cm with marble base; 16,5 x 22 x 7 cm just the statue

The prancing horse offered herein is almost identical to the statue preserved in the collection of the Museo del Palazzo di Venezia in Rome (cfr. catalogue p.93, tab n.93).

Inspired by archeological models (shaved mane, hair tuft tied between the ears), this horse has been suggested to be part of the Tuscan Renaissance generation by the catalogue's curator, Doct. Pietro Cannata.

The great art historian Pope Hennessy ascribes a similar-looking horse, made to complement a previously discovered horse-less knight, to Cellini (National Archeological Museum, Florence)

Another horse statue of this calibre can ben observed in Padua’s Musei degli Ermitani, attributed to Giambologna by their catalogue. It is hypothesized that these horses might have been inspired by a lost Leonardo model.

Our specimen, due to its craftsmanship and coating, is here proposed as an artifact of the XVI-XVII century.

Comparative bibliography:

Museo Nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia: sculture in bronzo, a cura di P. Cannata e M.G. Barberini, Roma 2011, p. 93;
J. Pope Hennessy, Cellini, Milano 1986, tavv. 127-128;
Musei Civici di Padova Bronzi e Placchette, a cura di D. Banzato e F. Pellegrini, Padova 1989, p. 27 e p. 129;
I Cavalli di San Marco, a cura di G. Perocco, Milano 1981, pp. 218-219.