Apollino Or Apollo Medici, An Important 19th-century Cast Iron Sculpture - H 150 Cm

Important cast iron sculpture from the late 19th century depicting Apollonius or Apollo Medici, originally intended for garden or park decoration, but also very decorative indoors. Beautiful patina and fine workmanship. Dimensions: H 150 x W 56 x D 44 cm. The Apollonius or Apollo Medici is a Roman copy of a Hellenistic sculpture of the adolescent god Apollo of the Apollo Lykeios type. It is currently housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Its head has proportions similar to those of Praxiteles' Aphrodite of Knidos, leading some to believe it is a copy of an original by Praxiteles, or at least in the style of Praxiteles. Others maintain that it is an eclectic creation from the Roman period, blending several styles of "Second Classicism". Her left arm may have held a bow. Rediscovered complete in Rome in the 17th century, although its exact provenance is obscure, it was originally part of the Borghese collection before being transferred to the Medici collection at the Villa Medici, where it was recorded in 1704. Unlike many early sculptures in the Medici collection, it was not moved to Florence by Cosimo III de' Medici, remaining in Rome until it was removed to accompany the Medici Niobe group in 1769–70. Although its reputation has declined since then, it retained its acclaim throughout the 18th century as one of the most sought-after Roman sculptures. It was seen in the Tribune of the Uffizi by the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who commented: "It is difficult to conceive of anything more delicately beautiful than Ganymede, but the spiritual lightness, the sweetness, the fluid perfection of the forms [of Apollo] surpass it. The face, though exquisitely beautiful and sweet, is not divine. There is a feminine vivacity of winning but passive happiness, and yet an extremely delightful childlike inexperience. The limbs seem to be traversed by a spirit of life which gives them lightness. Nothing can be more perfectly beautiful than the legs, and the union of the feet with the ankles, and the fading of the lines from the feet to the delicate extremities. It is like a spirit, even in dreams. The neck is long but full, and supports the head with its abundant, knotted hair as if it needed no support." In 1840, at the Uffizi, it was broken by a falling painting and was restored by Lorenzo Bartolini covered the entire statue with a layer of paint to conceal the repairs. Besides other 17th and 18th-century copies, the French sculptor Jean-Baptiste Vietty created a copy of the Apollo, which is now in the Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon.