Notes
ANGUIER AND HIS SERIES OF GODS AND GODDESSES
This bronze of Juno, beautifully modeled and of large scale, together with her familiar, a particularly lively peacock, is part of the much-discussed and well-documented group of six bronzes created by Michel Anguier circa 1652. Anguier, who had been in Italy for ten years working in the studios of both Bernini and Algardi, returned to France in 1651, and set about creating a series of gods and goddesses. As Jeremy Warren has noted, few small bronzes were being produced in mid-17th century France and Anguier’s ambitious series can be considered the beginning of the golden age of the French Baroque bronze, which lasted well into the 18th century (J. Warren, Beauty and Power: Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes from the Peter Marino Collection, London, 2010, p. 138).
The group is described by the sculptor’s contemporary and biographer Guillet de Saint-Georges in 1690: ‘M. Anguier was also taken up in 1652 with the modeling of six [sic] figures each 18 pouces high [19 1/8 in. (48.7 cm.)], which have been cast in bronze and which represent a Jupiter with his thunderbolt, a Jealous Juno, Neptune Agitated, a Tranquil Amphitrite, a Melancholy Pluto, Mars laying down his arms, and a distraught Ceres. These figures are today with M. Montarsis, Jeweler to the King.’ The seventh, Mars, is now generally thought to have been conceived at the same time but not part of the original group, as Warren has also noted (Ibid., pp. 138-140). Much later, in 1749, the comte de Caylus also mentions this group: ‘M. de Montarsis, Jeweler to the King, whose memory is still cherished by art lovers for the beautiful collection of paintings and drawings which he assembled, commissioned from him [Anguier] six small figures 18 pouces in height; they depict three gods and three goddesses; they are nothing special, but nevertheless he had them cast in bronze.’ (Ibid., pp. 138-139). It has been established that both Guillet de Saint-Georges and Caylus are referring to Pierre le Tessier de Montarsis (1647-1710), a noted collector, dealer and, like his father Laurent, jeweler to Louis XIV (Ibid., p. 140 and Wardropper, op. cit., p. 205). Interestingly, de la Moureyre has recently discovered the over life-size Juno done by Anguier as part of a series of fourteen limestone Roman deities commissioned by Nicolas Fouquet for his château de Saint-Mandé between 1659 and 1661. This Juno was also owned by Pierre le Tessier de Montarsis, acquired directly from Anguier’s widow, and is now in the garden of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris (op. cit., n.p.).
In Anguier’s series Juno was paired with Jupiter, both depicting elements of Air. He holds a lightning bolt in his raised proper right hand, so that the figures mirror one another in position, sober stances and voluminous robes, in contrast to the more active and scantily–clad figures of Amphitrite, Neptune, Ceres and Pluto. There are two versions of Jupiter, in the Louvre and the J. Paul Getty Museum. It has been suggested that the present model of Juno was paired with the Getty Jupiter, as they both share the same hexagonal base, like several others from this group, including the Ceres recently sold Christie’s, New York, 20 May 2008, lot 219 ($337,000) and now in the collection of Peter Marino (Warren, op. cit., no. 13). Despite the wealth of contemporary documentation, it is impossible to confirm exactly which bronzes formed part of the original program and which were subsequent casts, or even precisely when these later models were cast.
THE THREE JUNOS
While there are multiple examples of Anguier’s other gods and goddesses represented in museum and private collections there appear to be only two other models of the Juno known in addition to the present lot. Both differ from the present model, and from each other, considerably, and are discussed in detail by Wardropper (op. cit., pp. 220-221).
One version is in the Louvre, and originally formed part of the celebrated collection of bronzes given by André Le Nôtre to King Louis XIV in 1693 (inventory number 192), and remained in the Royal Collections until transferred to the French state collections. In this version Juno is depicted without a peacock, wearing a scalloped and pointed diadem, with her head uncovered and shoulder covered. She is on a square base, which is not integral, and as the figure fits awkwardly on the cramped base, as Wardropper mentions, there is the possibility that a different base was originally conceived.
The second version was sold Sotheby’s, New York, 10 May 1985, lot 205, and is now in the National Gallery, Washington. Both Baillio (op. cit., p. 132) and Wardropper mention its poor, or indifferent, quality, generally of lower level casting and finishing. The diadem she wears is a simple lunette, her head is uncovered, and the dress and drapery are largely the same as the Louvre version. The base is hexagonal, like the present version. The Washington Juno, alone, holds a pomegranate in her raised left hand. Although there is also no peacock as in the Washington version, perhaps it is simply missing, as there is room for it and there are additional structural elements under the base which imply it could have been conceived.
The present Juno wears a scalloped diadem decorated with stars, half covered by her drapery, which also modestly covers the back of her head, contrasting with her bared proper right shoulder, which gives this version a more intimate feeling than the other examples. The drapery differs considerably from the other versions, as it clings seductively along Juno’s proper right hip and upper leg and then pools in an elegant, almost lavish display at her feet and along the base. The present version is the only one with a peacock, which adds both an animation – and indeed some humor as it appears to be stamping his foot with impatience – to the composition. The base is hexagonal. Wardropper notes that there were two terracotta models of Juno listed in the 1706 inventory of David Bourdelle, Anguier’s nephew and heir, so this might prove that Angiuer made at least two models of Juno himself (op. cit., p. 221). The present version appears to be the finest cast, and possibly the most complete, of the three versions. It is tempting to think that the present version is the earliest of the three models (De la Moureyre, op. cit., n.p.). However, perhaps more than anything else, the surface of the present Juno sets it apart from the Louvre and National Gallery versions. Incredibly rich, and indeed almost glowing, the warm patina helps to temper the somewhat severe and classical aspects of this impressive bronze.
