Apollo Belvedere thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Sculpture, Room 111, The Gilbert Bayes Gallery

Apollo Belvedere

Statuette
1750-1800 (made)
Artist/Maker
Zoffoli, Giacomo (founders)
Zoffoli, Giovanni (founders)
Place of origin
Rome (made)

The Zoffoli ran one of the most important workshops in Rome during the 18th century.
They specialised in the reproduction of small bronzes for the Grand Tour market. This example is based on a marble statue in the Vatican. The original, probably a Roman copy of a Greek bronze, was described in 1523 as ‘famous throughout the world’.


Object details

Categories
Access_to_Images 2003
Sculpture
Object type
Statuette
TitleApollo Belvedere
Materials and techniques
Bronze
Bronze
Casting
Brief description
Statuette, bronze, of Apollo Belvedere, made by workshop of Giacomo and Giovanni Zoffoli (Italian), Rome, 1750-1800
Physical description
Based on the famous antique marble Apollo Belvedere (Musei Vaticani, Rome).
Dimensions
  • Height: 35.1cm
  • Weight: 3.5kg
Marks and inscriptions
'G.ZOFFOLI.F.' (On base.)
Credit line
Given by Professor Benjamin Rowland, Jr., through Art Fund
Production
Although the bronze is signed, it is unclear whether Giacomo and Giovanni Zoffoli were directly involved in its modelling, casting or finishing because other sculptors, such as Vincenzo Pacetti, often made the models in their foundry.
Subject depicted
Apollo
Summary
The Zoffoli ran one of the most important workshops in Rome during the 18th century.
They specialised in the reproduction of small bronzes for the Grand Tour market. This example is based on a marble statue in the Vatican. The original, probably a Roman copy of a Greek bronze, was described in 1523 as ‘famous throughout the world’.
Associated objects
Bibliographic references
  • cf. Wilton-Ely, John in Wilton, Andrew and Bignamini, Ilaria (eds.) Grand Tour: The Lure of Italy in the Eighteenth Century, Tate Gallery, London, 1996, p. 281, no. 237, p. 280.
  • Honour, Hugh. 'Bronze statuettes by Giacomo and Giovanni Zoffoli' in Connoisseur, CXLVIII, 961, pp. 198-205.
  • The Age of Neo-Classicism, Exhibition catalogue , Arts Council England, Royal Academy of Arts, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1972, pp. 293-95
  • Penny, Nicholas. Taste and the Antique, New Haven and London, 1981, pp. 148-151 and 342-43.
  • Avery, Charles. 'Bronze Statuettes in Woburn Abbey: New Attributions to Taddeo Landini and Giuseppe de Levis', Apollo, CXIX/1, February 1984, pp. 97-103
  • Radcliffe, A.F in Jackson-Stopes, Gervase ed. The Treasure Houses of Britain, 1985, pp. 358-61, cat. no. 285.
  • Nicholas, Penny. Catalogue of European Sculpture in the Ashmolean Museum: 1540 to the Present Day, Vol. I, Italian, Oxford, 1992, pp. 162-67.
  • Brook, C. and Curzi, V. Roma e L'Antico: Realta e Visione nel '700. Rome: Skira, 2010. cat. no. III, 5.
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.12-1974

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJanuary 16, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O89617/apollo-belvedere-statuette-zoffoli-giacomo/
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest