Lot 807: A CARVED MARBLE BUST OF A GENTLEMAN

A CARVED MARBLE BUST OF A GENTLEMAN
BY PIERRE ETIENNE MONNOT (1657-1733), 1697
Wearing an elaborate perruque and looking to dexter; signed and dated
'P.S. MONNOT BISONTINVS F. RMA 1697' under the proper right shoulder; weathering, chips and minor losses
30 in. (76 cm.) high

THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR (LOTS 805 - 811)
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Born in Besançon, Pierre-Etienne Monnot began his career by studying with his father, a wood-carver, before moving to Dijon to study further. Although he later lived in Paris for ten years, it was not until he moved to Rome in around 1687 that he attained real success. The turning point was a prestigious commission from the Landgrave Karl von Hesse-Kassel to create a sculptural programme for the Marmorbad at Kassel. This domed pavilion was to be decorated with twelve marble groups, eight large and eight smaller reliefs, and Monnot was to work on it intermittently for the rest of his life (see K. Kopanski and K. Weber eds., Das Marmorbad in der Kasseler Karlsaue, Regensburg, 2003).

Between the periods when he was working on the Marmorbad, Monnot was kept busy with numerous other commissions. He executed the tomb of Innocent XI (St. Peter's, Rome) by 1701, and two monumental statues of SS. Peter and Paul for S. Giovanni in Laterano by 1708. He also developed a reputation among members of the European aristocracy who travelled to Rome on the Grand Tour, including the 5th Earl of Exeter. The present portrait, with its elaborate wig and dramatic swathes of drapery could represent an Italian sitter or, alternatively, a member of this visiting elite.