JOHANN BERNHARD FISCHER VON ERLACH(GRAZ - 1656 - VIENNE - 17 - Lot 338

Lot 338
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JOHANN BERNHARD FISCHER VON ERLACH(GRAZ - 1656 - VIENNE - 17 - Lot 338
JOHANN BERNHARD FISCHER VON ERLACH(GRAZ - 1656 - VIENNE - 1723) SEMIRAMIS Terracotta H. (total): 60 - W.: 50 - D.: 35 cm Study of the work by Tomaso Montanari: The principal architect of the Austrian Baroque, von Erlach imported into central Europe the architectural language of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Francesco Borromini and Carlo Fontana, learned during a long stay in Rome (1671-1683). Fischer worked in the workshop of the Schor family, a famous family of architects, decorators, sculptors and painters from South Tyrol, closely linked to Bernini's workshop. From 1683 to 1687, in the company of Filippo Schor, he stayed in Naples, in the suite of the viceroy Gaspar de Haro y Guzmán, Marquis del Carpio. Appointed the first architect of Imperial Vienna in 1704, he built a large number of churches and palaces, including Schönbrunn and the Church of St. Charles Borromeo in Vienna. He was also a sculptor, creating a portrait of Emperor Leopold I for the Plague Column in Vienna (lost), sketching the bas-reliefs for the base (1687-1688), designing vases, fountains and numerous medals, directing decorative campaigns in stucco and a marble statue of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary for the altar of the Mint Chapel in Naples (lost). The sculptural works of von Erlach were mainly known from the archives. A few months ago a new sculpture by the artist appeared: a bust of Pentheles, Queen of the Amazons. Identified by Leticia de Frutos in the course of her research into the patronage of the Marquis del Carpio, the historian found a list of works of art that the viceroy sent from Naples to Madrid in 1687, in which, as a counterpart to Pentheles, another mythical queen of Antiquity, Semiramis, appears. The inventory describes this bust "con murion en la cabesa a modo de faja rep(resen)ta Semiramis Reina de Asia y Asorie, echa en Roma del d(ic)ho con su piedestalo ut supra. This description makes it possible to identify this bust of Semiramis as an autograph modello executed by von Erlach for the now unknown marble. The iconography of the work fits very well with the representation of Semiramis. According to the legend, she is raised by doves, whose form she takes at her death, which explains the central role of the one on the right shoulder of the figure. This presence probably justifies the bird on Pentheles' helmet for the sake of symmetry. The dress that uncovers her right breast clearly alludes to her legendary lust, which earned her a prominent place in Dante's Inferno (V, 55-56). The Carpio document also shows that, in the marble version, von Erlach accentuates the warlike character of Semiramis, imposing a helmet on her to reinforce the visual parallelism with the bust of Penthelesia. The close stylistic and iconographic affinity with this marble bust allows the attribution to von Erlach, but also makes the link with the commission of the Marquis del Carpio. The cut of the bust is identical, and many points of comparison in the facial features are visible: the oval, the flattened nose, the drooping corner of the mouth, the line of the shoulders and the deeply incised drapery. The winged mascaron around Semiramis' chest recalls the military activities of this sensual and warlike queen. The similarity of the dimensions, the symmetry of the inclinations of the heads, shoulders and exposed breasts, and the recurring motif of the bird prove that our terracotta was created at the same time, with the aim of forming a pair with the Aranjuez marble. As for the chronology of the work, the Spanish document indicates that it was executed in Rome between 1677 and 1682, the date of del Carpio's embassy to the Pope. Thus, together with the Aranjuez marble Pentheles, the Semiramis provides an unexpected basis for a new era of research into this aspect of the great Austrian architect's work.
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