Gaetano Zumbo Sold at Auction Prices

Sculptor, b. 1656 - d. 1701

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        • Attributed to GAETANO GIULIO ZUMBO (Syracuse, 1656–1701). "Prayer in the Garden of Olives". Polychrome wax and cork.
          Jun. 22, 2023

          Attributed to GAETANO GIULIO ZUMBO (Syracuse, 1656–1701). "Prayer in the Garden of Olives". Polychrome wax and cork.

          Est: €15,000 - €18,000

          Attributed to GAETANO GIULIO ZUMBO (Syracuse, 1656-1701). "Prayer in the Garden of Olives". Polychrome wax and cork. Size: 35 x 34 x 21 cm (sculpture). Sculpture made in polychrome wax representing Jesus in the Garden of Olives at the moment when the angel comforts him, while his disciples Peter, John and James sleep beside him (Matthew: ch. 26 v. 37; Mark: ch. 14 v. 33). The Gospels narrate that Jesus, in the throes of a strange sadness, went to pray on the Mount of Olives, where the apostles followed him. Once there, Jesus withdraws to one side to pray, the moment of the crucifixion becoming present to him. This episode thus marks the beginning of the bloody Passion in the soul of Christ. The apostles fall into a deep sleep, and an angel appears to Jesus to comfort him. In fact, this episode alludes to the greatest temptation of Jesus' life, the last of all: knowing his destiny, he can either flee from his enemies or continue to fulfil his divine mission, risking his life. Gaetano Giulio Zumbo was an Italian sculptor known for his wax modelling. His main talents are not what are generally considered artistic, but would now be seen as the creation of scientific models, but were highly regarded as pieces of curiosity in his time. Zumbo showed an entirely self-taught inclination for the sculptural arts and anatomy. Unfamiliar with chiselling, he learned to model coloured wax. This led to his patronage by the Grand Duke of Tuscany in Florence, for whom he created a series of five models, almost a memento mori, depicting progressive corruption after death, beginning with a dying man, followed by a corpse, a corpse just beginning to decompose, half corrupted, another completely corrupted, and finally eaten by maggots. Once exhibited in the Medici Gallery, it was then moved to the cabinet of natural history and zoological specimens (now exhibited in the Section of the Museum of Natural History called La Specola). Zumbo left Florence for Genoa. There he completed wax sculptures: a Nativity and a Descent from the Cross. He became associated with a French surgeon named Desnoues, and with him completed a series of anatomical studies, including that of a woman who died in childbirth. With Denoues, he travelled to Paris, where he presented to the Academy of Sciences a wax sculpture of the head with a naturalistic depiction of veins, arteries, nerves, glands and muscles.

          Setdart Auction House
        • GAETANO GIULIO ZUMBO (Siracusa, 1656 - Paris, 1701)
          Apr. 27, 2023

          GAETANO GIULIO ZUMBO (Siracusa, 1656 - Paris, 1701)

          Est: €60,000 - €90,000

          Anatomical bust with worms Wax sculpture within wooden case, cm. 60x28x25. The present work is accompanied by the expertise of Prof. Paolo Giansiracusa. LITTERATURE: P. Giansiracusa, Arte e scienza in una ritrovata cera di Gaetano Giulio Zumbo, ed. Longari Arte Milano, 2016.

          Bertolami Fine Art s.r.l.
        • AMBITO OF GAETANO GIULIO ZUMBO (Siracusa, 1656 – Paris, 1701)
          Apr. 27, 2023

          AMBITO OF GAETANO GIULIO ZUMBO (Siracusa, 1656 – Paris, 1701)

          Est: €10,000 - €15,000

          Skeleton and skulls Wax sculpture within wooden case, cm. 23x36x17.

          Bertolami Fine Art s.r.l.
        • Ceroplast, anatomical bust with Verminaio - 1699-1700, GAETANO GIULIO ZUMBO (1656- 1701)
          Dec. 07, 2022

          Ceroplast, anatomical bust with Verminaio - 1699-1700, GAETANO GIULIO ZUMBO (1656- 1701)

          Est: €200,000 - €300,000

          Ceroplast, anatomical bust with Verminaio - 1699-1700, GAETANO GIULIO ZUMBO (1656- 1701) Ceroplasty, wood and glass case. Ceroplasty, or the ancient art of working with wax, has been used since antiquity in the funerary and devotional spheres, and later from the 17th century it was also widely used for the didactic reproduction of anatomical, zoological and botanical models. In the course of time, ceroplastics became famous for its representations especially in the anatomical field, thanks to artists such as Gaetano Giulio Zumbo (Syracuse 1656- Paris 1701). The Sicilian abbot Zumbo, after his first studies in Naples, attended the oldest school of anatomy in Bologna, the Alma Mater Studiorum, then moved to Naples, before arriving in Florence in the service of Grand Duke Cosimo dè Medici (between 1691-94), famous for the macabre wax models made in this period depicting human bodies in various stages of decomposition. He later worked in Genoa, where he executed two important works that have been lost: a Nativity and a Deposition from the Cross. The ceroplast's fame reached as far as Paris, where in 1701 he was invited to 'show one of his anatomical heads at the Académie Royale des Sciences'(1) . Following this, he obtained a monopoly on anatomical preparations from Louis XIV and was also authorised to give public lectures on anatomy, but unfortunately died suddenly of a haemorrhage in the same year. His artefacts straddle the line between scientific and artistic rigour; they do not merely reproduce reality but offer a dramatic and grotesque vision of the transience of life. These representations, like other similar ones of his time, had 'the function of exorcising the illness, pain and pestilence'(2) that was rampant at the time; in fact, according to 17th century thinking, surrounding oneself with these images distanced death itself. Zumbo had a particular predilection for the figurative depiction of the human body in decay. Witness the waxwork of the Anatomical Bust with Vermin, in which the appearance is emotionally disconcerting both in anatomy and in the rendering of details. The body, corrupted by decomposition, emerges in a disgusting scenario in which animals rage against putrescent flesh, set inside a wooden case with three trapezoidal openings. The young man's face suggests a violent death, given the multiple wounds in several places: in the face, skull and neck. The eye sockets are turned upwards and describe the ultimate search for a different beyond, free of suffering and finally safe. The identification of the young man is not certain, but sources suggest that during his French sojourn he met the 'General of the galleys'(3) , for whom he executed an anatomical head. This Anatomical Bust with Vermin probably dates back to that time and could identify the young man as a convict who had a rope or chain around his neck during his stay, a punishment for his conviction, as the gash in his throat suggests. The work is not lacking in symbolism and meaning: the rat represents anguish, disgust and degradation, just as the cockroach represents darkness, depression and death. The moth on the other hand, in the Christian imagination, is an emblem of resurrection and salvation precisely because of its path. Therefore, Zumbo tried to 'represent both good and evil, darkness and light, the rottenness of the flesh and decay and the Christian dream of resurrection'(4) . In conclusion, the background of the shrine is painted in broad brushstrokes without suggesting a specific description. His works are kept in Florence at the Museo della Specola, the Regional Gallery of Palazzo Bellomo in Syracuse, in London at the Victoria and Albert Museum and in other important private collections. 1) Paolo Giansiracura, Arte e scienza in una ritrovata cera di Gaetano Giulio Zumbo, ed. Longari Arte Milano, 2016 https://www.longariartemilano.com/download/Arte-e-scienza-in-una-ritrovata-cera-di-Gaetano-Giulio-Zumbo-di-Paolo-Giansiracusa-2016.pdf 2) ibidem 3) ibidem 4) ibidem Wooden case: Height of the wooden work without pinnacles and feet 41 cm; height of pinnacles 13.5 cm; height of feet 6.5 cm; largest side of trapezoidal base 60 cm; smallest side 38 cm; depth 25 cm Item condition grading: **** (excellent) Accompanied by expertise by Prof. Paolo Giansiracusa.

          Bertolami Fine Art s.r.l.
        • Wax head 18th century "Memento mori".
          Apr. 06, 2022

          Wax head 18th century "Memento mori".

          Est: €7,500 - €10,000

          Eighteenth century Neapolitan high relief "Memento mori" made in wax, fabrics and wood with polychrome, a work following the models of Gaetano Giulio Zumbo, (Syracuse, 1656 - Paris, 22 December 1701). Presented in a later iron urn. Overall dimensions: 24 x 40 x 31 cm.

          Ansorena
        • ATTRIBUE A GAETANO ZUMBO (1656-1701), VERS 1695-1700 BUSTE ANATOMIQUE EN DECOMPOSITION AVEC DES VERS H.: 42.5 cm. (16 ¾ in.); L.: 52 cm. (20 ½ in.)
          Jun. 19, 2018

          ATTRIBUE A GAETANO ZUMBO (1656-1701), VERS 1695-1700 BUSTE ANATOMIQUE EN DECOMPOSITION AVEC DES VERS H.: 42.5 cm. (16 ¾ in.); L.: 52 cm. (20 ½ in.)

          Est: €25,000 - €35,000

          ATTRIBUE A GAETANO ZUMBO (1656-1701), VERS 1695-1700BUSTE ANATOMIQUE EN DECOMPOSITION AVEC DES VERSPersonnage en cire polychrome, les yeux en verre; reposant sur une base en poirier noirciH.: 42.5 cm. (16 ¾ in.); L.: 52 cm. (20 ½ in.)

          Christie's
        • Due gruppi in cere colorate e materiali naturali entro cornici a teca raffiguranti Annunciazione e Deposizione. Ceroplasta operante in Italia meridionale (Napoli o Sicilia) tra il XVII e il XVIII secolo,
          Jun. 13, 2018

          Due gruppi in cere colorate e materiali naturali entro cornici a teca raffiguranti Annunciazione e Deposizione. Ceroplasta operante in Italia meridionale (Napoli o Sicilia) tra il XVII e il XVIII secolo,

          Est: €10,000 - €12,000

          I due imponenti gruppi barocchi contraddistinti dalla elaborata costruzione scenica e prospettica ricca di vivide raffigurazioni, accurati particolari architettonici e realistiche rappresentazioni di elementi naturali ed anatomici trovano significativi riscontri con alcune opere del ceroplasta siracusano Gaetano Giulio Zumbo (1656 - 1701) come il Cristo deposto conservato presso il Museo Nazionale del Bargello a Firenze o la natività del Victoria & Albert Museum di Londra e del messinese Cosimo Rosselli, autore del presepe ora al Museo Regionale di Messina. Cm 90x84 (luce cm 55x46), Bibl.: - A.Gonzalez-Palacios "Un adornamento vicereale per Napoli - Ceroplastica" in "civiltà del seicento a Napoli" catalogo della mostra, Napoli 1984. - M.L. Azzaroli Puccetti "Gaetano Giulio Zumbo. La vita e le opere" in "Gaetano Giulio Zumbo" catalogo della mostra (Siracusa) a cura di P.Giansiracusa, Milano 1988. - "Sortilegi di cera. La ceroplastica tra arte e scienza" catalogo mostra a cura di Farida Simonetti, testi di Daniele Sanguineti, Farida Simonetti, Giulio Sommariva, Genova 2012

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