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3. an Investigation of Renaissance Casting Practices As a Means For UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) The application of X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to the study of museum objects Glinsman, L.A. Publication date 2004 Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Glinsman, L. A. (2004). The application of X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to the study of museum objects. General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl) Download date:01 Oct 2021 AnAn Investigation of Renaissance Casting Practices as a Means for Identifying Forgeries 3.. An Investigation of Renaissance Casting Practices as aa Means for Identifying Forgeries Abstract t ThisThis study was undertaken to answer questions of authenticity, as well as. define thethe manufacture of a series of seven small bronze busts of Pope Paul /// Farnesc. attributedattributed to Guglielmo della Porta. The busts were first examined visually to determinedetermine whether the method of manufacture was consistent with sixteenth- centurycentury casting practices. They were then analyzed with x-ray fluorescence spectrometryspectrometry (XRF) to determine whether the composition of the metal was in accordanceaccordance with that of other Renaissance bronzes. An investigation was done into knownknown Renaissance metallurgical practices and compared with modern refining andand art foundry practices. Figuree 1 Attributed to Guglielmo della Porta. Pope Paul III Farnesc. bronze (copper(copper alloy) From left to right: Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. Cornell University,University, Ithaca. New York; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond: Sotheby's. NewNew York; Wil lard B. Golovin Collection (A and B); J. B. Speed Art Museum. Louisville,Louisville, Kentucky: National Gallery of Art, Washington 71 1 Chapterr 3 3.1.3.1. Introduction AA series of seven small bronze busts of Pope Paul HI Farnese attributed to Guglielmoo della Porta (c. 1516-1577), was assembled at the National Gallery of Art,, Washington, for technical study. Figure 1 depicts the busts assembled for studyy shown from left to right arc Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art (1967.26); Cornelll University, Ithaca, Newr York; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (1986.163), Richmond;; Sotheby's, New York (22 June 1989, lot 95); Willard B. Golovin Collection,, A and B; J. B. Speed Art Museum (1968.33), Louisville, Kentucky; andd National Gallery of Art (1975.6.1), Washington. AH are 29-3 I cm high and 20 cmm wide. In addition to the seven works illustrated in Figure 1, two similar busts existt in the Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, and Muzeum Narodowe Warszawie,, Warsaw, but were not available for comparison. Nationall Gallery curators had questioned the attribution and authenticity of thiss unusual series, since no precedent for a group of small-scale portrait busts is knownn to exist in the Renaissance. A series of small bronze portraits of Marie de' Medicii and Henri IV c. 24-25cm high, by the French sculptor Barthelemy Prieur, whichh date to approximately 1600, are perhaps the earliest known examples [1]. In addition,, the blatant lack of documentation for any of these busts prior to 1936 althoughh they ostensibly date from an era well known for its meticulous record keeping,, prompted the effort to validate or refute the attribution by investigating thee casting methods and materials of these busts [2]. Thee seven small bronze busts were first examined visually to determine whetherr the method of manufacture was consistent with sixteenth-century casting practices.. They were then analyzed to determine whether the composition of the metall was in accordance with that of other Renaissance bronzes or what is known aboutt Renaissance metallurgical practice. 3.2.3.2. Historical Background Firstt attributed to Guglielmo della Porta by Werner Gramberg, [3] the bronze busts depictt Pope Paul III, Alessandro Farnese (1468-1549) as portrayed in Figure 2. Guglielmoo della Porta was a Lombard artist who worked in Milan and Genoa beforee moving to Rome. Giorgio Vasari claimed that he moved to Rome in 1537, [4]] but the earliest documented date for his presence there is 3 May 1546. when he wass paid for marble doors of the Sala del Re in the Vatican. [5] John Pope Hennessyy describes him as a "sculptor of genius" who helped mark the transition in Italiann sculpture after 1550 from Florentine supremacy to Lombard artistry [5, p.88]. 72 2 AnAn Investigation of Renaissance Casting Practices as a Means for Identifying Forgeries Figuree 2 Attributed to Guglielmo del/a Porta, Pope Paul III Fame.se. copper alloy, NationalNational Gallery of Art, Washington 73 3 Chapterr 3 Figuree 3 Guglielmo del la Porta. Pope Paul III Farnese, c. 1550, marble MuseoMuseo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples 74 4 AnAn Investigation of Renaissance Casting Practices as a Means for Identifying Forgeries Inn Rome, Guglielmo was introduced to Michelangelo and, through him, to thee Farnese family. It was Michelangelo who, according to Vasari, "conceived an affectionn for him, and before any other thing, caused him to restore some antique thingss in the Farnese Palace, in which he acquitted himself in such a manner that Michelangeloo put him into the service of the Pope (Paul III) [4, 9:235]. When Paul Ill'ss reigning piombatore apostolico (the individual charged with making lead seals forr papal bulls) died in 1547, Guglielmo procured this prestigious position against suchh acclaimed competitors as Benvenuto Cellini. As piombatore apostolico, Guglielmoo was further granted the honor of designing and executing the pope's tomb.. Between 1547 and 1567 he is not known to have completed many sculptures,, but as Vasari wrote, "It is the characteristic of those who hold that officee to become sluggish and indolent." [4, 9:237] Thee attribution to Guglielmo of the small busts considered here is not unfounded. Hee executed several portrait busts of Paul III and received payment in 1547 for one castt in bronze [5, p.396]. He also cast a seated portrait of the pope for his tomb. Figuree 3 and Figure 4 represent two over-life-size marble busts of the same sitter thatt were also reported as having been executed by Guglielmo around 1550. Today theyy are in the Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples. Gramberg considers onlyy one (10514) to be the work of Guglielmo. However, the second (10524) is consideredd to be a workshop piece depicted in Figure 4 [3, p. 160]. Henceforth they willl be identified as Guglielmo's bust or the workshop piece, based on Gramberg's attribution. Thee series of small busts appears to have been derived, if not copied, from Guglielmo'ss marble at the Capodimonte as seen in Figure 3. Except for their size (thee marble is considerably larger than the small bronzes), they are identical. It has evenn been suggested of one of the small bronzes that it was a bozzetto (study) for thee Capodimonte marble, [2, p.85] but the high degree of detail and the finished qualityy of the surface of the bronze busts is atypical for bozzctti. Based on his observationn that some of the nicks and minor losses on the bronze bust in the Museumm fur Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg (not available for this examination), appearr to have occurred prior to casting. Gramberg believes that it was cast from a waxx model made by Guglielmo c. 1544. He also suggests the wax model was savedd from destruction to be cast later for documentation purposes. He considers thee finished quality to be characteristic of Guglielmo's oeuvre. 75 5 Chapterr 3 Figuree 4 Workshop of Guglielmo delta Porta. Pope Paul III Farnese. C. 1548- 1549,1549, marble Museo Nazionale di Capodirnonte, Naples :?6 6 AnAn Investigation of Renaissance Casting Practices as a Means for Identifying Forgeries Figuree 5 Detail, fig. 2. showing the inscription in the base Furthermore,, he interprets the casual inscription, detailed in Figure 5 "Paolo III Farnese"" excluding the compulsory "PONT MAX" to mean that Guglielmo added itt later, probably after the pope had died [3, p.l64J. It could be argued, however, thatt the inscription was merely written by an individual unfamiliar with the proper wayy to inscribe a papal title and therefore could not possibly have been done by Guglielmo.. It could also be artuied that what is in fact incongruous is thai the 77 7 Chapterr 3 Figuree 6 Detail, fig. 2, showing the cope, PR tipper field, containing allegorical see)see) ie of A hinnlai ice inscriptionn is not in Latin. "PONT MAX." would not be added to an Italian inscriptionn [6]. This study is not intended to prove or disprove questions pertaining too a nonextant wax or lost-wax model and when and who inscribed it. They are 78 8 AIIAII Investigation of Renaissance Casting Practices as a Means for Identifying Forgeries Figuree 7 Detail, attributed to Guglielmo delta Porta, Pope Paul 111 Farnese, showingshowing the cope, proper left upper field, containing allegorical scene of Justice (Golov'm(Golov'm Collection, B) raisedd to show how these bronzes, and similar ones, have been interpreted in relationn to Guelielmo's oeuvre.
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