GIOVAN FRANCESCO SUSINI'S SCHOOL (Florence, 1585-1653), Hermaphrodite

Brass alloy with impurities (see the attached alloy examination). 13 x 40 x 17 cm

The statue’s original model is preserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and sits on a gorgeous bronzed, pod-shaped box with grotesque figures in the corners.

This bronze adaptation was inspired by the Roman sculpture, copy of a Greek original, unearthed in the Santa Maria della Vittoria park in 1608 and acquired by the Cardinal Scipione Borghese. Due to a commission by the Cardinal, a young Bernini added a quilted mattress which was very much appreciated by his peers. After Napoleon’s looting the marble was sold and is now at the Louvre.

Some versions of this bronze are available for viewing in various museums, like the Louvre’s, attributed to the Tuscan school of the XVII century. Another similar item at the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Wien has been attributed to the same author, albeit dubiously.

Our statuette, according the to the current state of bronze studies, might be a replica of this design from the XVI century, and it is almost certainly better in quality compared to the MET’s.

Presents traces of coating and a dark brown patina.

Includes allow examination made by:

LABORATORIO DIART - Diagnostica per l'arte.
Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli studi di Milano, via Celoria 16.

Also includes free movement certificate.

Comparative bibliography:

Plasmato dal Fuoco, la scultura in bronzo nella Firenze degli ultimi Medici, a cura di E. D. Schmidt, S. Bellesi e R. Gennaioli, Livorno 2019, pp. 30-31.