Fine Italian Grand Tour Antique Bronze Sculpture of “Narcissus” after Antiquity

GRAND TOUR
Italy, late 19th century

"Narcissus"

Patinated bronze | cast circa 1890-1910
Unmarked

24 3/4" H x 10" diameter

An exceedingly fine cast after the Greco-Roman statue of Antiquity discovered in a non-descript house in Pompeii in 1862, the sculpture has been widely discussed as an image of Narcissus, while scholars have argued it is instead a depiction of Dionysus and more recently as a cast of Bacchus waving his finger with grapes dangling from it before an unseen panther. It was the last antique statue in Italy to be showered with such considerable worldwide renown and perhaps this is the reason for its popularity.

The sculpture depicts a young man standing entirely devoid of clothing other than a goatskin nebrid thrown over his shoulder, his full head of hair chaotic and unkempt as he stares down at something unseen on the ground before him.

It is this hollow stare and the pensive raised finger that led early scholars to attribute the image to Narcissus, the young man of great beauty loved by all who met him, but he was unwilling to return the same love to anyone. Because he treated those who loved him so poorly, the gods deemed Narcissus would never have anything he loved. One day, when Narcissus was hunting he stumbled across a stream and when he looked into its still waters he saw his own reflection and fell deeply in love with the image. He reached out to grab the figure, but could not grasp it. He stayed beside the stream without sleep or food, sharing every moment with this image, this singular being who captured his heart. And there he wasted away until he died beside the waters and transformed into a flower.

The philosophical statements of the myth underpin the very word Narcisism and make it a particularly compelling image to have at hand - a reminder of the perils of self-delusion.

Unlike most sculptures of antiquity, the present example seems to have almost always been copied both in the same size and in the same medium as the original example with only a few deviations from this norm through the end of the 19th century. Haskell & Penny note that Giuseppe Fiorelli, the director of the Museo Nazionale in Naples from 1863 through 1875 reaffirmed the opinion of the scholars before him in noting the representation as being quite positively Narcissus, but towards the end of the same century opinions shifted and scholars began to interpret the presence of his crown of ivy and the nebrid as being suitable only for Dionysius [see Taste and the Antique, Haskell & Penny, p. 271-272 for discussion].

The present example is finished in a Pompeian patina, one that captures the essence of having been recently excavated from an archeological dig with intense build-up and chaotic verdigris and patina variations. How the foundry achieved such a fabulous surface was a trade secret tightly held by each of the major houses producing Grand Tour works for the wealthy travelers of the 19th century. Note the almost entirely hollow casting of his eternal eyes, the finely cast surface with brilliant articulation to the hair throughout his head, fine articulation of the fingernails and toenails and jeweler-grade casting and finishing to the intricate detail of his thongs. These are fabulously stippled and chiseled.

Condition: Very fine original condition with only minor wear to the patina. Trace grime and accretion in recesses. Ready to place.

ref. 602KQW150