Saint John the Baptist
c. 1475/1485
Artist, Sienese, 1439 - 1501
West Building Ground Floor, Gallery G15
Artwork overview
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Medium
bronze//Black laquer (abraded locally)
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Credit Line
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Dimensions
overall (diameter): 19.8 cm (7 13/16 in.)
gross weight: 1807.6 gr (3.985 lb.)
framed (diameter x depth): 6.35 cm (13 3/4 × 2 1/2 in.) -
Accession
1957.14.248
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Art market, Italy, 1850s/1860s; Louis-Charles Timbal [1821–1880], Florence and Paris; sold 29 November 1872 to Gustave Dreyfus [1837–1914], Paris; (sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 21–22 February 1873, no. 15 [with NGA 1957.14.247], bought in);[1] his heirs; purchased 1930 with the entire Dreyfus collection by (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris); sold 1944 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York.
[1] This information was kindly supplied by Marie-Amélie Carlier (e-mail of 12 October 2007 to NGA curator Nicholas Penny, in NGA curatorial files).
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1937
The Art of the Renaissance Craftsman, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1937, no. 55, as by Bertoldo.
1985
Italian Renaissance Sculpture in the Time of Donatello, Detroit Institute of Arts; Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas; Forte Belvedere, Florence, Italy, 1985-1986, no. 80 (shown only in Detroit and Fort Worth).
Bibliography
1886
Molinier, Émile. Les Bronzes de la Renaissance. Les Plaquettes; Catalogue Raisonné. 2 vols. Paris, 1886: 1:59, no. 88, as by Bertoldo.
1908
Migeon, Gaston. "La collection de M. Gustave Dreyfus, V: Les plaquettes." Les Arts 80 (August 1908): 22, repro. in wooden frame, as by Riccio.
1931
Ricci, Seymour de. The Gustave Dreyfus Collection. Reliefs and Plaquettes. Oxford, 1931: 90, no. 124, pl. 37, as by Bertoldo, and with mounting flange shown still intact.
1938
Ragghianti, Carlo. "La Mostra di scultura italiana antica a Detroit (U.S.A.)." Critica d'Arte 3:4–6 (fasc. 16–18) (August–December 1938): 182, as by Francesco di Giorgio (earliest current attribution).
1943
Weller, Allen Stuart. Francesco di Giorgio 1439-1501. Chicago, 1943: 165-168.
1949
Seymour, Charles. Masterpieces of Sculpture from the National Gallery of Art. Washington and New York, 1949: 178, note 32.
1951
Renaissance Bronzes: Statuettes, Reliefs and Plaquettes, Medals and Coins from the Kress Collection. Introduction by Perry B. Cott. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1951: 142, repro. 62.
1965
Pope-Hennessy, John W. Renaissance Bronzes from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: Reliefs, Plaquettes, Statuettes, Utensils and Mortars. London, 1965: 25-26, no. 72, fig. 16.
1966
Montagu, Jennifer. "Plaquettes Revealed." Apollo 83 (March 1966): 229.
1968
Berenson, Bernard. Italian Pictures of the Renaissance. Central Italian and North Italian Schools. 3 vols. London, 1968: 1:142.
1975
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: 629, fig. 969.
1983
Wilson, Carolyn C. Renaissance Small Bronze Sculpture and Associated Decorative Arts at the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1983: 35, no. 2.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 629, no. 976, repro.
1987
Toledano, Ralph. Francesco di Giorgio Martini. Pittore e scultore. Milan, 1987: 137-138, no. 55, repro.
1993
Fumi Cambi Gado, Francesca. “Sant’Antonio Abate, San Girolamo.” In Bellosi, Luciano, ed. Francesco di Giorgio e il Rinascimento a Siena, 1450-1500. Exh. cat. Chiesa di Sant'Agostino, Siena 1993: 200–201, fig. 1.
1994
Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994: 91, repro.
Markings
Reverse bears former inventory numbers 88 in white or cream-colored paint (Molinier), canceled by red paint, as well as 59 in red paint (Dreyfus), and earlier-style NGA accession number in red paint.
Wikidata ID
Q63814979