Christ the Redeemer - Lot 35

Christ the Redeemer A rock crystal intaglio in a pietra dura frame Rock crystal intaglio mounted in a hard stone frame Rome, circa 1530 Attributed to Giovanni Bernardi (1494-1553) Diam. of intaglio: 6 cm; diam. of frame: 15 cm Provenance : Wolfgang Hofstätter Collection, Vienna; Georg Laue, Munich ; Private collection, Paris. Bibliography: G. Laue, Trésor. Treasures for European Kunstkammer, Munich, 2017, pp. 186-187, pp. 253-254, no. 62. This rock crystal intaglio depicts Christ the Redeemer in glory. He is enthroned, seated on a rainbow above the cloud. He is shown bare-chested, arms outstretched with open palms facing downwards. A drapery covers his pelvis and legs. Putti surround him, while one snuggles up to him. The octagonal frame is in Sicilian jasper adorned with eight lapis lazuli discs. The molded gilded metal frame is decorated with a jagged border of fleurons. Condition: good Attribution to Giovanni Bernardi di Castelbolognese (1494-1553) is based on comparison with works in rock crystal signed by this master and held at the Galleria Nazionale di Capodimonte in Naples (inv. AM 10507), the British Museum in London (inv. 1867,0507.739), the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore (inv. 41.68 and 41.69) and the Museo degli Argenti in Florence (inv. Bargello del 1917, no. 13). Giovanni Bernardi was one of the most important gem engravers and medalists of the Renaissance. After being trained as a goldsmith by his father in his native Castelbolognese, he quickly took up gem engraving in Ferrara and became a supplier to the leading collectors of his day, including Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, Pope Clement VII, Cardinal Hippolyte de' Medici and Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, elected Pope as Paul III. Bernardi's works were so highly prized by his contemporaries that great artists, including Michelangelo and Perino del Vaga, supplied him with drawings as models for his precious creations. The intaglio shown here was inspired by Christ the Redeemer by Antonio Allegri, also known as Correggio: an oil on canvas produced around 1525 for the church of Santa Maria della Misericordia in Correggio (now in the collections of the Pinacoteca Vaticana).