Conceived and cast in 1970, this work is unique and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Inge Manzù under Archivio 23/1988, dated June, 25, 1988. First inspired by classical sculpture and the works of Michelangelo and Maillol, Giacomo Manzù began exploring sculpture across a variety of mediums in the 1930s. By the end of the decade, the Milan-based artist focused on a few central subjects, many of which were inspired by Catholicism and Biblical imagery. Manzù’s first sculpture of a cardinal, executed in 1936, would begin a lifelong exploration of the subject in all manner of posture and scale. Unlike many artists who also favored the medium of bronze, Manzù frequently envisioned his sculptures as singular works, creating new plasters for each bronze cast and later destroying the plaster, ensuring a unique iteration of each work and engendering each cardinal with its own formal qualities and emotive subtleties. Created in 1970, Cardinale seduto dorato is one such unique bronze, and among the few works on this subject with a brilliant gold patina. Atop the figure’s head sits a curved hat typical of the mitres worn by cardinals in the presence of the Pope. This depiction recalls Manzù’s oft-cited memory of an impactful trip to Rome in 1934, in which the artist visited St. Peter’s and beheld a resplendent scene of Pope Pius XI enthroned between two seated cardinals.

Provenance

Acquired by the present owner in 1988 directly from the artist