(ATTRIBUTED TO) TOMMASO BUCCIANO (San Giorgio la Molara 1757-1830)

Dying Gaul

(ATTRIBUTED TO) TOMMASO BUCCIANO (San Giorgio la Molara 1757-1830)

Dying Gaul

Black-coated bronze. Signed Bucciano. 29,5 x 57,5 x 27,5 cm

This is a bronze replica of the world-famous marble sculpture preserved in the Capitoline Museums of Rome: the "Dying Gaul", roman-era copy of an original hellenistic bronze, usually attributed to Epigonus (230-220 B.C.).

Our bronze has a “Bucciano” signature on the base. Tommaso Bucciano was a Neoclassical sculptor who was a molder for the Real Fabbrica Ferdinandea (porcellains). His stuccoes made for the Royal Palace of Caserta are well-known. He also worked in Rome: it was probably during his stay there that he saw the Dying Gaul, saved from Napoleon’s clutches.

The ties between bronze workers and porcelain factories in the 1700s are well-attested (see Soldani Benzi or Foggini for Ginori manufactures). It is uncertain if Bucciano actually produced bronzes, but a molder occasionally dabbling in bronze-making wouldn’t have been unusual.

Our Gaul, stylistically consistent with Bucciano’s period, could be an interesting piece documenting the author’s artistic career, even if certain documentation is missing.

Bronze replicas of the Gaul have been documented since the XVII century. The most renowned of them is the cast preserved in the Bargello Museum, made by Giovan Francesco Susini (Florence, 1585-1635).

Comparative bibliography:
Civiltà del 700 a Napoli, exhibit catalogue, Firenze 1979;
Plasmato dal Fuoco, la scultura in bronzo nella Firenze degli ultimi Medici, a cura di E. D. Schmidt, S. Bellesi e R. Gennaioli, Livorno 2019