north italian, late 17th / early 18th century
15
Model for a Monument to a Victorious Commander Bronzed terracotta 12 ½ in. (32 cm) high 6 ¾ in. (17 cm) wide provenance Professor Michael Jaffé CBE (1923–1997), Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; thence by family descent (lent to the Fitzwilliam Museum, 1976–2016)
fig. 1 Filippo Parodi (1630–1702) Portrait of Francesco Moroni as Admiral, 1687 Bronze Palazzo Ducale, Venice
This fascinating modellino of a warrior in late seventeenth-/early eighteenthcentury armour is shown three-quarter-length above a trophy of arms. These arms represent those of the vanquished foe, in this case the great Ottoman Empire, which had reached the gates of Vienna in 1683. The primary indicator of this is the distinctly Ottoman style of the quiver at the base of the figure, with the Empire’s three crescent moons emblazoned upon it. The ‘bronzed’ nature of the surface suggests our terracotta was perhaps a model for a larger bronze monument to a famed military commander, such as the three-quarter-length bronze bust set upon a marble trophy of Ottoman weaponry dedicated to the memory of Francesco Morosini, ‘The Peloponnesian’ (1619–1694), that was erected inside the Ducal Palace in Venice (fig. 1). The work was cast by Filippo Parodi on 23 December 1687, after the successful reception of the marble bust (now in the Museo Correr) that the artist had carved previously. The present sitter – who holds in his right hand what appears to be a ceremonial baton, symbol of military command – is depicted without the long wig, or perruque, fashionable at the time. The choice to appear bare-headed may have been intended as an allusion to the great generals of ancient Rome, whose effigies were known from surviving ancient busts. But it is also interesting to note that in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries ‘exotic’ Ottoman fashion, which included shaving one’s hair, enjoyed considerable popularity in Christian Europe, despite its connection with the enemy. In Poland specifically this Ottoman influence was strongly rooted, since Prince Stephen Bathory had introduced the style around 1571. Polish national dress became configured as self-consciously ‘Oriental’ and involved bearing curved sabres, wearing caftans and elaborate silk sashes and shaving one’s head. Indeed, at the 1683 Siege of Vienna some Polish soldiers looked so ‘Ottoman’ that they had to wear straw hats to distinguish themselves from the enemy. Considered in conjunction with our terracotta’s iconography, this suggests that the present sitter may have been a commander in the Polish army during one of the Polish-Ottoman conflicts that took place throughout the seventeenth century. dr charles avery