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A NORTH ITALIAN NEOCLASSIC GILTWOOD AND WHITE-PAINTED COMMODE Signed GB, probably for Gu...

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:120,000.00 - 180,000.00 USD
A NORTH ITALIAN NEOCLASSIC GILTWOOD AND WHITE-PAINTED COMMODE Signed GB, probably for Gu...
A NORTH ITALIAN NEOCLASSIC GILTWOOD AND WHITE-PAINTED COMMODE

Signed GB, probably for Guiseppe Maria Bonzanigo (1745-1820), Turin, circa 1780 The rectangular white marble top above an acanthus ogee molding and a frieze set with alternating palmettes overlaid with shells and oak and acorn sprays, and two long drawers decorated with ribbon-tied laurel and berry swags separated by oak and acorn sprays, the apertures of the swags alternately set with fluted disks and Diana masks, flanked by laurel and berry stop-fluted pilasters, each headed by acanthus, each side set with opposed flowering cornucopiæ centering oak and laurel and berry sprays, and flanked by oak and acorn sprays, the whole set on a gadrooned leaftip border on four acanthus cluster and bun feet 37 X 62 X 29 IN. (94 X 157 X 73.5 CM)

$120,000-180,000

THE ATTRIBUTION TO GUISEPPE MARIA BONZANIGO The massive angular architectural style of the present commode, even if it were not accompanied by the inscription GB to the side of one of the drawers, immediately brings to mind the name of the fabled Italian cabinet-maker and proponent of muscular neoclassic design, Guiseppe Maria Bonzanigo. The presence of this inscription and the existence of at least four documented commodes by Bonzanigo still in Turin dispells all doubt that he is indeed the author of the present commode. The formal arrangement of an ornament below the marble top (in this case acanthus ogee molding), above a decorated frieze (in this case disguised as a drawer), above two larger decorated drawers, flanked by an architectonic element (a pilaster) is seen on four cream-painted and parcel-gilt commodes by him, but in no example are all of the elements combined on one commode, as with the present example (Silvano Colombo, L'Arte del Legno e del Mobilie in Italia. Busto Arsizio, 1981, figs. 534, 536-38). All four commodes have two large decorated drawers flanked by an architectural element and decorated sides, three have a decorative border between the case and the legs, two have a decorated frieze, and one has an ornament beneath the top. However, the present commode most closely resembles that at the Palazzo Reale, Turin, in terms of its form, proportion and display and choice of ornament. Another feature present on all four documented Bonzanigo commodes and the present example is the integration of the drawer pulls into the decoration. GUISEPPE MARIA BONZANIGO A furniture-maker, sculptor and ornamentalist, Bonzanigo belonged to a family who owned a workshop of wood-carvers and organcase-makers in Asti. In 1773, he started working for the Savoy family and the following year gained admission to the Accademia di S. Luca, Turin. In the accounts of the Royal family he is recorded as having supplied numerous stools, chairs, armchairs, benches, sofas, screens, prie-dieux, beds and mirrors, as well as many ornamental panels and chests-of-drawers, for the Palazzo Reale in Turin and for royal residences at Moncalieri, Rivoli, Stupinigi, Venaria and Govone. His style is best expressed when, as part of a team of architects and assistants, he was commissioned to decorate and furnish entire rooms, such as the State Rooms of the Queen and King at Stupinigi. His work is characterized by its departure from the traditional school of Franco-Piedmontese inlay and marquetry cabinet-making in favor of a more predominant use of carving. He adhered to Neo-classical forms in their most plastic, solid and vigorous, yet elegant, expression, in which the profusion of carvings always had a symbolic, allegorical and commemorative significance, with great use of garlands, emblems and trophies. In 1787, he was appointed wood-carver for Victor-Amadeus III (1726-1796) and in 1793 was admitted ad honorem to the Accademia Clementina in Bologna.

The renowned elegance of the work of Bonzanigo and other furniture-makers and carvers, including Francesco Bolgié (active 1769-1825), can be seen in the apartments of the dukes of Aosta on the second floor of the Palazzo Reale, Turin, executed (1775) under the direction of the architects Giuseppe Battista Piacenza (1735-1818) and Carlo Randoni (active 1786-1831). The low-relief decorations remain in the Louis XVI style: vases with mythological panels, friezes, garlands, torches, tripods and trophies were incorporated in fireplaces, mirrors, doors and over-door panels. The unity of the arts reached a high point in the work of the 1780s in the Palazzo Stupinigi. Bonzanigo worked on the interiors, together with Michele Antonio Rapous (active 1765-1792), who painted the floral still-lifes, and Vittorio Amedeo Cignaroli (1730- circa 1800), who created the Arcadian landscapes. Other examples of this style can be found in the Castello di Moncalieri, with preparatory drawings (Turin, Bib. Reale) by Leonardo Marini (active 1760-1806) for the furnishings.

A commode of similar form, proportions and decoration from the circle of Bonzanigo, attributed to Bolgié, circa 1789, was formerly in the collection of Guiseppe Rossi (sold Sotheby's London, March 10, 1999, lot 75, £188,500)
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