Lot 80: A RECTANGULAR CARVED MARBLE PORTRAIT RELIEF OF CHRIST

A RECTANGULAR CARVED MARBLE PORTRAIT RELIEF OF CHRIST
ATTRIBUTED TO GIUSTO LE COURT (1627-1679), THIRD QUARTER 17TH CENTURY
Christ depicted with head turned to sinister and wearing a tunic buttoned at his chest; in a later rectangular moulded ebonised wood frame; a loss and a repair to the bottom edge of the relief; minor worming and damages to frame
12¾ x 9½ in. (32.4 x 24 cm.); 23¾ x 21 in. (60.4 x 53.3 cm.) overall

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
C. Semenzato, La scultura veneta del seicento e del settecento, Venice, 1966.
A. Bacchi, La scultura a Venezia da Sansovino a Canova, Milan, 2000.

This striking and highly emotive marble relief representing Christ was probably carved to be enclosed in a frame or a small tabernacle, and placed in a chapel for private devotion. Arguably one of the finest examples from a series of similar reliefs of the same subject, it was formerly attributed to the Venetian master, Orazio Marinali (1643-1720). However, a more detailed stylistic analysis demonstrates that it was more likely carved by Marinali's friend, the highly regarded Flemish sculptor, Giusto Le Court.

The attribution to Marinali was, in all likelihood, given on the basis of stylistic comparisons to a series of portrait profile reliefs by him, examples of which can be seen in the Accademia Carrara, Bergamo (Bacchi, op. cit., pls. 479-480). Their composition and expressive facial types do compare to the present relief, but this may simply be due to the fact that the two artists trained together. Upon close examination it is apparent that the treatment of the hair and eyes is quite different. An attribution for the present relief to Le Court can be arrived at comparing it, for example, to the sculptural embellishment of the oratorio di Ca' Nave, Cittadella, near Venice and Vicenza. The face of San Giacomo (see comparative illustration) as well as that of Christ the Saviour demonstrate a near identical treatment to the shape of the face, hair, eyes, nose and beard. Virtually identical stylistic similarities can also be seen on the face of Christ from the Deposition in the Chiesa de Sant' Andrea della Zirada, Venice, that Le Court carved in the last year of his life.

Inspired by the success of many of his Flemish compatriots, Le Court travelled to Rome before finally settling in Venice in around 1655. It was there that he made his name as a sculptor. One of his first Venetian commissions was in around 1656 when he carved two figures of Justice and Fortitude for the Monument to Alvise Mocenigo in San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti (ibid, pls. 411-2). His collaboration with the architect of the monument, Giuseppe Sardi (1630-99), led to the start of Le Court's longstanding association with Venetian architects, who prized his ability to create sculptures that complemented their architectural settings.

Le Court's most celebrated work, in collaboration with the architect Baldassare Longhena, was the decoration of the high altar of Santa Maria della Salute, Venice, in 1670 (ibid, pls. 423-5). This work demonstrated Le Court's mature baroque style, the dramtatic composition of which recalled those of Bernini, but in terms of style showed that he remained faithful to his Flemish origins.