Antonio Corradini: GRUPPO SCULTORICO di nudi maschili: APOLLO E MARSIA

Speranza



Object:

Statue

Place of origin:

Italy (made)

Date:

1710-1750 (made)

Artist/Maker:

Corradini, Antonio, born 1668 - died 1752 (sculptor)

Materials and Techniques:

Carved marble

Museum number:

A.6-1967

Gallery location:

Sculpture, room 23, case FS

The subject of this group is one of the most disturbing in classical mythology.

When the god Apollo beat the satyr Marsyas in a musical contest, Apollo chose to skin Marsyas alive as a penalty for losing.

This group and its companion, Zephyr and Flora (Museum no. A.5-1967), belonged to a series of garden sculptures supplied by Corradini to Augustus the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony for his gardens in Dresden.

Known to have been in the Easton Neston collection in Lincolnshire at least as early as 1902, the sculpture was perhaps brought to England soon after it was sold at an auction, in Dresden, in 1836.

Corradini was a virtuoso sculptor of marble, and although he was mainly active in the Veneto, also worked in Vienna and Rome. He was particularly renowned for his statues of veiled or partially veiled figures, such as his Modesty of about 1750. This figure and Zephyr and Flora exemplify his elegant style, rooted in a classical language, but also incorporating a rococo lightness and movement. Such a style was well suited to garden sculpture in the 18th century.