Lot 156: A PARCEL-GILT BRONZE GROUP OF APOLLO IN HIS CHARIOT

A PARCEL-GILT BRONZE GROUP OF APOLLO IN HIS CHARIOT
BY FRANCESCO RIGHETTI (1749-1819), 1793
Apollo depicted standing in his chariot, wearing a cloak about the shoulders and with sun beams radiating from his head; the chariot elaborately decorated in relief with scrolling foliage on the exterior and laurel branches on the interior, and drawn by two horses leaping forward; on an ormolu-mounted rectangular marble base with gilt-metal plaque to the side signed and dated 'F. RIGHETTI F. ROMAE. 1793'; all on four ormolu feet in the form of tortoises; green patina 'a l'antique'; minor repairs, chips and losses
35½ x 29¾ x 19½ in. (90.2 x 75.5 x 49.5 cm.) overall

THE CHARIOT OF APOLLO


This impressive bronze group of Apollo in his chariot is one of two known versions executed by the Roman sculptor Francesco Righetti (1749-1819). The other, executed almost 20 years later by Francesco and his son Luigi, is in the Museo di San Martino, Naples, where it has recently been re-attributed to Righetti following the discovery of a signature on one of the feet of the ormolu-mounted base.

Francesco Righetti was a sculptor, silversmith and bronze founder who had his training under Luigi Valadier (1726-1785). Valadier was, from 1779, in charge of restoration of the bronzes in the papal collections, and was also entrusted with the collection of antique cameos. Righetti would later (1805) succeed Valadier as superintendent of the Vatican foundries, but by that time his reputation as one of the most talented sculptors, specialising in works after the antique, was well-established. In 1781 he had received a commission for a set of busts from the English banker Henry Hope, and in 1786 Catherine the Great of Russia commissioned a marble and bronze group of Apollo and the Muses after antique sculptures in the Museo Pio-Clementino, Rome.

By 1794, Righetti's success was such that he produced a catalogue which listed 46 busts, 25 groups and 78 single figures he was able to cast in bronze for clients wishing to have a souvenir of works of art they had seen while in Italy (reproduced in Haskell and Penny, op. cit. , p. 343). These could be executed in a variety of sizes and with different patinations depending on the tastes of the individual.

However, the present bronze group of the god Apollo in his chariot shows that, apart from the widely produced smaller figures, Righetti also produced unique - or almost unique - bronzes on a lavish scale. Representing the Sun as he rode across the sky, this beautifully finished bronze is proudly signed and dated 1793 on a gilt-metal cartouche on the side of the elaborate base. The attribution to Righetti is confirmed by a document in the state archives which details the shipment of several items from his workshop out of the city including what must be the present bronze: 'per la via di Genova, e sono la copia della biga del museo Vaticano con suo basamento di Verdi Antico guarnito di metalli dorati...' ('by the via di Genova, there [is] the copy of the chariot from the Vatican museum on its base of verde antico [marble], embellished with gilt-metal elements', Archivio di stato, Camerale II, Antichita e belle Arti, b, 13/297).

The Chariot of Apollo is both a work after the antique and an original composition by a sculptor well-versed in the classical tradition. The chariot is based on a celebrated marble in the Vatican Museum which had been restored by a friend and colleague of Righetti's - Francesco Antonio Franzoni (1734-1818). Its popularity ensured that it had pride of place in a room which was actually named after it - the Stanza della Biga (see fig. 1). However, while Righetti has faithfully followed the restored chariot and horses, the figure of Apollo is his own.

The youthful sun god represented the rational side of man's nature, and his beauty here literally radiates. He is also associated with culture and the creative arts, and the four tortoises which support the marble base refer to the myth that it was by running strings across an empty tortoiseshell that he created the first lyre. For the Greeks, tortoises also supported the base on which Atlas stood to carry the universe, and a double meaning may be implied here. The Chariot of Apollo therefore incorporates the most admired elements of antique culture while remaining identifiably a product of late 18th century Italy.