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65 - Giuseppe Maria Mazza (Bologna, 1653-1741), after 1720 Sleepi…
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Estimate €10,000 - €15,000
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Description
Giuseppe Maria Mazza (Bologna, 1653-1741), after 1720 Sleeping Putto Terracotta figure Lying on a stylised rock; hollow back; old restorations Dimensions: 25 × 35 cm (9 ¾ × 13 ¾ in.) Provenance: Former Sgarbi collection. A terracotta figure depicting a sleeping putto, by Giuseppe Maria Mazza (Bologna, 1653-1741), after 1720 This terracotta, formerly in the Sgarbi collection, was published for the first time in 2012 with an attribution to Andrea Ferreri (Milan, 1673-Ferrare, 1744), based on a comparison with the Anteros in the Bologna Municipal Art Collections, signed "A.F.F." and dated 1740(1). As Stefano Tumidei pointed out in 1991 with regard to this Anteros, then in private collection, Ferreri's style is so close to that of Giuseppe Maria Mazza that he appears almost as his alter ego, or at least as the most faithful heir to his artistic language(2). A standing Cupid dated 1726 and signed "G.M.F." (private collection) was probably one of his most important works. (private collection) was probably a reference model for the Ferreri of Anteros(3). The theme of putti enjoyed huge success in the 17th century, thanks in particular to Alessandro Algardi, a major figure in Emilian sculpture, famous for his little loves and children in terracotta(4). As early as 1673, Alessandro Fava paid Mazza for "a small sleeping putto ... intended to be placed on a table"(5). The Fava family, who were among the first patrons of the Bolognese sculptor, owned several groups of putti in terracotta(6), already demonstrating the young artist's virtuosity in modelling6 and the one made in 1673 must certainly have been by the talented young artist, then aged around twenty(7). Mazza often returned to this subject during his career, notably with a sleeping Cupid in terracotta signed and dated "G.M.F. 1736" (private collection, Cento)(⁸). Comparison with this work, as well as with the standing Cupid of 1726, now makes it possible to link the Sleeping Putto here to Giuseppe Maria Mazza himself. While the treatment of the supple, childlike flesh remains very similar in Mazza and his pupil Ferreri, the rendering of the draperies distinguishes the two artists to a greater extent. In Ferreri's work, the folds of the cloak are meticulously detailed in a more fragmented language, while Mazza favours loose, flowing folds, similar to those of the cloak supporting the sleeping putto. The child's round, fleshy face also brings this work closer to Mazza's models than to Ferreri's Anteros. These strong stylistic similarities mean that this sculpture can be attributed to Giuseppe Maria Mazza, and that it was executed in a late phase of his career, after 1720. We would like to thank Professor Andrea Bacchi for his commentary. (1) Fausto Gozzi, scheda in Il fascino della terracotta: Cesare Tiazzi - uno scultore tra Cento e Bologna 1743-1809, catalogo della mostra (Cento, Pinacoteca Civica) A cura di G. Adami, C. Grimaldi Fava, A. Mampieri, Cinisello Balsamo (MI), 2012, pp. 198-199, cat. 17, fig. 17°. (2) Stefano Tumidei, Terrecotte bolognesi di Sei e Settecento: collezionismo, produzione artistica, consumo devozionale, in Presepi e terrecotte nei musei civici di Bologna, catalogo della mostra (Bologna, lapidario dl Museo Civico Medievale) a cura di R. Grandi, M. Medica, S. Tumidei, A. Mampieri, C. Lorenzetti, Bologna, 1991, p. 27 (fig. 10) e 32. (3) La terracotta, già in collezione Sackler, è passata all'asta a New York nel 2010 (Sotheby's, Important European Terracotta & Bronze Sculpture from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, 29/01/2010, New York, lotto 463, cfr. Silvia Massari, Giuseppe Maria Mazza, tesi di dottorato, Università di Trento, 2012-2013, p. 801, cat. 141. E' stata recentemente pubblicata, con l'errata datazione al 1736, da Fausto Gozzi, scheda in Il fascino della terracotta cit, p. 190, cat. 13 (fig. 13°). (4) Stefano Pierguidi, Bellori e i putti nella scultura del Seicento: Brnini, Duquesnoy, Algardi, in "Marburger Jahrbuch für Kunstwissenschaft", XXXIX, 2012, pp. 155-180 (5) Silvia Massari, Giuseppe Maria Mazza e l'"Accademia" di palazzo Fava: nuove opere, nuovi documenti, in "Nuovi Studi", XVIII/19, 2013, p. 197 (6) Ibidem, pp. 202-203, note 8. (7) Massari, op. cit, 2012-2013, pp- 849-850, cat. 167 (8) Ibidem; F. Gozzi, scheda in Il fascino della terracotta cit, p. 190, cat.
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About the sale Furniture and Works of Art - Evening Sale (Lot 1-170)
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Auction time 06/16/2026 at 5:00 PM
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