Apollo Belvedere thumbnail 1
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

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

Category
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

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