Bartolomeo FRANZONI (1746-1812), attribué à. Lot n° 11

Pauline Bonaparte (1780-1825). Marble bust, after a model by Antonio Canova (1757-1822), on pedestal. Engraved on the base "PAULINA N(APOLÉON)". Minor restorations and wear. Early 19th century. H. 45 x L. 18 cm. History This bust, attributed to Bartolomeo Franzoni, is based on the famous statue of Pauline Bonaparte as Venus Victrix, commissioned by her husband Camille Borghese and sculpted by Antonio Canova between 1804 and 1808. This work, housed in the Galleria Borghese (ill.1), inspired numerous busts designed to publicize the image of the imperial family. Bartolomeo Franzoni, a sculptor based in Carrara, was entrusted with this task and produced numerous busts based on models by Canova or Chaudet. Our work, by virtue of its quality of execution and size, can be compared with Franzoni's busts of Pauline, the first of which, commissioned by Elisa Bonaparte, is now in the Château de Versailles (ill. 2), as is the Malmaison bust from the collections of Empress Eugénie (ill. 3). Related works - Atelier de Canova, Buste de Pauline Bonaparte, Italy circa 1810-1820, former Murat collection, Christie's sale, Paris, June 15, 2023, lot 54 (sold for €25,200). - Antonio Canova, Pauline Bonaparte as Venus Victrix, 1804-1808, Galerie Borghèse, inv. LIV (ill. 1). - Bartolomeo Franzoni after Antonio Canova, Bust of Pauline Bonaparte, 1807, Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, inv. MV 1542 (ill. 2). - Bartolomeo Franzoni after Antonio Canova, Buste de Pauline Bonaparte, 1st quarter 19th century, Musée national des châteaux de Malmaison et de Bois-Préau, inv. M.M.40.47.6835 (ill. 3). Literature - Rosella Carloni, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, vol. 50, 1998. - G. Pavanello, L'opera completa del Canova, Milan, 1976, pp. 111-112, no. 165-167.