North-Italian, first half 16th century, Figure of a Grieving Youth, bronze, 32.3 cm (12¾ in) high. © Tomasso Brothers

LONDON.- Tomasso Brothers Fine Art will unveil an exciting new discovery by the gallery, an Italian Renaissance bronze Figure of a Grieving Youth, at TEFAF Fall New York 2018. This exceptional sculpture joins a superb 18th century carved limewood relief by the renowned French master of the genre, Aubert-Henri-Joseph Parent (1753-1835), and a rare early portrait of dogs by the Dutch still life painter Dirck de Horn (1626-c1683/8), another recent discovery, in a triumvirate of gallery highlights. 

The newly-discovered Renaissance bronze Figure of a Grieving Youth, is North-Italian and almost certainly Venetian and represents a standing young man whose left arm is raised theatrically, with a dark reddish brown patina of exquisite colour which remains in wonderful condition. The composition was inspired by an ancient Roman marble (after a Hellenistic original) known as Dead Niobid, now in Munich’s Glyptothek, and which is first mentioned in records around the year 1500. 

The elaborate pose and heightened expressive quality of the ancient Roman marble must have immediately captured the attention of artistic circles in Rome and beyond; interpretations of it appear in a circa 1500 Florentine drawing now in the Prado Museum, and the figure also appears, like the present sculpture in an upright stance, in the altarpiece of the Ten Thousand Martyrs by the Venetian painter Carpaccio (1465-1520) now in the Accademia in Venice. Carpaccio often employed small bronzes as models for figures in his paintings, which suggests a statuette of Figure of a Grieving Youth existed in Venice by the second decade of the 16th century. The rarity of the model is attested to by the fact that very few casts exist, most notably the two in The Wallace Collection, London and the Musée du Louvre, Paris. 

The present bronze is an important testimony of the artistic sensibility of early sixteenth century Italian Renaissance. Rooted in the humanist approach to the rediscovery of antiquity, the figure compositionally reinvents its ancient model, combining gesture and power of expression to create an arresting portrait of human emotion. It is offered for a price in the region of USD $275,000. 

The Wettin Still Life Relief by Aubert-Henri-Joseph Parent (1753-1835) is a superb example of limewood carving, executed at the height of French Neo-classicism. Signed and dated 1794, it is thought to have been commissioned by a member of the German House of Wettin, rulers at the time of the Electorate of Saxony 

An exquisite work of technical brilliance, straddling the realms of naturalism and trompe l’oeil, the flowers – roses, lilacs, daisies and ranunculi – are a vivid three-dimensional execution imitating a Dutch Old Master floral still life. A critic observed of Parent’s work in 1783 that “one hardly expects to see such delicacy united with elegance in such a small place”. Parent, born in Cambrai, caught the attention of King Louis XVI (1674-1793), securing the young artist a number of commissions at the French court, and he went on to enjoy a long and respected reputation. Closely comparable examples to the present relief include two works now in the J. Paul Getty Museum and a third in New York’s Metropolitan Museum, each beautiful illustrations of translating “the colour values of painting into gradations of relief” to create incredibly vivid yet elegantly composed images. The relief will have an asking price of around USD $125,000. 

Recently the relief belonged to Geoffrey MacLeod Hallowes (1918-2006), an officer in the British Special Operations Executive during World War II, whose wife Odette Brailly (1912-1995) was the first woman to be awarded both the George Cross and appointed Chevalier de la Legion d’honneur, the latter for her work with the French Resistance. Odette was immortalised in the eponymous 1950 film starring Anna Neagle and Trevor Howard. 

Another highlight on the stand will be a charming and rare early dog portrait, Spaniels and a Pointer in a Landscape, by Dutch artist Dirck de Horn (1626-c1683/8), signed and dated 1648. Only five signed still-life works by de Horn were known until now, four of which are in the Friesisches Museum, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands, home town of the artist. This recent discovery by Tomasso Brothers presents an opportunity to reappraise de Horn as a highly skilled painter of animals along with his previous extant works of still lives. The painting will be offered with an asking price in the region of USD $250,000. 

Recognised as leading dealers in the field of European sculpture, Tomasso Brothers Fine Art also specialises in Old Master paintings and objets d’art. The gallery will be exhibiting at Stand 207, Second Floor, at TEFAF Fall New York, which takes place at the Park Avenue Armory from 27-31 October 2018 (Preview 26 October).