Bust of Saint Joseph and Infant Jesus in polychrome wax, gla - Lot 141

Bust of Saint Joseph and Infant Jesus in polychrome wax, glass eyes. Joseph is positioned in front, turning his head towards the Child, offering his left profile. He carries the naked Child against his chest, who in a gesture of tenderness places an arm on the nape of his father's neck. Saint Joseph's hair is long and wavy, and he is dressed in a tunic and cloak, one side of which returns to the front, forming wavy folds. At the bottom, the saint's bust emerges from a cloud with three cherubs' heads. Italian school, Bologna, entourage of Angelo Pio (1690-1769), first third of the 18th century H. 67 cm H. total: 78 cm L. 60 cm (small chips, cracks and accidents) On a resin base inscribed ERZEIGE DICH EIN VATTER ZV SEIN (be grateful to be a father) The first thing that catches the eye when looking at this Saint Joseph is the subject itself. After having been poorly represented in medieval iconography, or given second place to the Virgin Mary, the iconography of Saint Joseph was to be renewed at the time of the Counter-Reformation. Prior to this, and from the early 15th century, relics of the saint appeared, notably the onyx ring of his betrothal to Mary, but also his staff preserved in the Camaldolese church in Florence. Then, at the end of the 15th century, Pope Sixtus IV introduced the feast of St. Joseph into the Roman liturgical calendar. But it was at the time of the Council of Trent, when it became clear to the Council Fathers that Christ's human nature should also be emphasized by depicting his filial adoption by St. Joseph. He could therefore be depicted in his paternal role, a practice that became widespread in the 17th century. This iconography, which gives St. Joseph a prominent place, is based on the "triangular" representations of the Madonna and Child in glazed terracotta, particularly widespread in the della Robia workshops in Tuscany. The author of this sculpture is inspired by this well-known and popular bust depiction of the Virgins of Tenderness, and applies the same sentiments to St. Joseph in relation to the Infant Jesus. This "filiation" leads us to look for a sculptor practicing in Tuscany or northern Italy. Two names come to mind: Gaetano Giulio Zumbo (Syracuse 1656 - Paris 1701) or Angelo Pio (Bologna, 1690-1769). Zumbo is an artist renowned today for his anatomical waxworks. He was commissioned by the Grand Duke of Tuscany to create the Corrusione (Putrefaction), depicting in colored wax five figures of the decomposition of bodies. These sculptures are now housed in Florence's Specola Museum. But the most similar sculptor is undoubtedly the Bolognese Angelo Pio. Pio worked mainly in stucco and terracotta in the Emilia-Romagna Rococo style. As early as 1721, he began producing crib figures, as illustrated by the peasant couple in the Davia Bargellini Museum. Bolognese waxworks were almost systematically attributed to him by art historians (Mostra dell Settecento Bolognese, 1935, pp 144). He produced the posthumous bust of Carlo Francesco Dotti in wax in 1746. The work with which this bust of St. Joseph can be compared is a Holy Family in the Santi Vitale e Agricola church in Bologna (fig). A number of clues point to a similarity between the two works: the glass eyes, also found in crib figures, the hands, some with fingers bent to show tension, the relatively youthful physique of St. Joseph (who would be depicted more aged towards the end of the 18th century) and the naturalism strongly expressed in the rendering of the skin and the modelling of the veins. It's a great opportunity to see a wax sculpture from renowned Italian workshops on the art market. It was purchased as early as the 18th century by a German-speaking patron who placed on the support a highly original prayer questioning the paternity of the faithful. Works consulted : - Diehl Johanna, Goldmann Barbara, Rainer Paulus and Schlegel Konrad, Wachs in seinen Händen, Daniel Neubergers Kunst der Täuschung, exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna from February 11 to June 30, 2025, Kunst Historisches Museum, 2025. - Papoff Pietro Piraino, Ceroplastica, Percorso storico e fotografico di un'arte antica, Navarro Editore, Marsala, 2011 - Schlosser Julius von, Histoire du portrait en cire, Macula, Paris, 1997