Sujet

'Girolamo Benivieni', (Giuseppe Bonaiuti), 1863. Creator: Unknown.

Légende

‘Girolamo Benivieni’, (Giuseppe Bonaiuti), 1863. Plastercast of a bust by Giovanni Bastianini (1830 -1868) who was contracted byantiquarian Giovanni Freppa to make sculptures in the manner of Renaissancemasters, which Freppa unscrupulously sold as authentic Renaissance"discoveries". In 1867, the Paris Louvre purchased the"Benivieni" bust as the work of Lorenzo di Credi (c1456-1537) for a hugelyinflated 13,600 francs. Following a rumour that the bust was not a Renaissanceoriginal, Freppa openly admitted that it was indeed a modern work. The modelfor the head of "Benivieni" was revealed to be an elderly Florentinetobacconist named Giuseppe Bonaiuti. Bastianini had aspired to become anindependent sculptor in his own right. However the controversy around the fakedterracotta bust caused him tremendous stress and brought him "bitterness,despair and death". (He died in 1868 aged 38). His bust of "GirolamoBenivieni" remains in the Louvre collection.

Date

1863

Crédit

Photo12/Heritage Images/Royal Academy of Arts, London/Paul Highnam

Notre référence

HRM26A34_425

Model release

NA

Property release

NA

Licence

Droits gérés

Format disponible

47.3Mo (2.1Mo) / 28.2cm x 42.0cm / 3331 x 4960 (300dpi)

Mots clés

portrait Italy Italian people male man men hat head historical style music arts country shape hats musician sculpture art guy clothes color confusion reproduction dress fake Renaissance location century uncertainty expression bust confused image clothing literature studio shot copy concept forgery PLASTER cast mould controversy APPAREL one person uncertain unsure facial expression controversial mold Colour 19th century poet black background 16th century 1860s nineteenth century sixteenth century history historic Unknown marble Giuseppe Girolamo Giovanni Lorenzo di Credi Credi provenance 1520s Giovanni Bastianini Bastianini Giovanni 19th-century clothing & dress fashion & clothing Lorenzo di Lorenzo d'Andrea d'Oderigo Royal Academy of Arts Purismo Girolamo Benivieni Benivieni Giuseppe Bonaiuti Bonaiuti Giovanni Freppa Freppa