"Lion Attacking a Horse,"
Giovanni Francesco Susini (circa 1575-1653).
NEW YORK CITY - The Frick Collection has announced the gift of a
magnificent pair of bronze animal groups attributed to the
sculptor Giovanni Francesco Susini, circa 1575-1653, from Walter
A. and Vera Eberstadt. "Lion Attacking a Horse" and "Leopard
Attacking a Bull" are the first late Renaissance bronzes from the
Giambologna school to enter the collection and they will be on
public view in the Living Hall of the mansion.
These beautiful sculptures, which exhibit the dynamism and
technical refinement characteristic of Susini's best works, are a
remarkable addition to a collection known for the outstanding
character of its Renaissance bronzes.
The Susinis will be displayed on the Frick's pair of late
Seventeenth Century marquetry pedestals from the workshop of
Charles Andre Boulle. This new installation will highlight the
importance of the Eberstadt's gift and underscores the harmonious
relationship between sculpture and decorative arts at The Frick
Collection.
The works show predatory cats locking jaws on their prey and
bringing them down. The pendant groups echo each other in elegant
contrapuntal rhythm: the lion casts the horse onto its side, as
the horse arches its neck backward, grappling the empty air with
its hooves. The leopard, in contrast, thrusts the bull downward
onto its front knees and it lowers it weighty head toward the
ground. Such formal harmonies evoke deeper meaning, as one victim
violently struggles against its fate while the other passively
accepts it.
Probably executed in Florence between 1630 and 1640, these
bronzes are final refinements to the paradigmatic compositions
showing lions attacking horses and bulls that had been invented
about 40 years before by Giambologna and the principal bronze
caster in his shop, Antonio Susini. After inheriting
Giambologna's models, Antonio cast many examples of these
extremely popular groups in bronze, a practice his nephew
Giovanni Francesco continued. Although the Eberstadt "Lion
Attacking a Horse" derives from these earlier models, the
"Leopard Attacking a Bull" is believed to be Giovanni's own
invention.
