The Sculpture Museum - Catalog - Page 21
body of a younger man, with his arm falling lifelessly along one side. It was first
placed on the Ponte Vecchio, Florence, and then installed under the Loggia dei
Lanzi. Following the restoration of this second ancient marble, after 1620, two
theories regarding the composition’s subject seemed to prevail: the first one
suggested that the bronze represented Alexander and the dying Clitus, and the
second one identified Ajax as the standing figure in the act of holding Patroclus. A
third version, again reported by Vacca in 1594, was discovered in the Mausoleum
of Augustus and also acquired by Cosimo I, who placed it in the Palazzo Pitti, as a
pair to Hercules and Antaeus. This group, twice restored, presented some differences
with the second version, and was generally considered as the least accomplished of
the three antique ‘Pasquino’ statues.
Presently, the widely accepted theory on the subject of the ‘Pasquino’ is that
first proposed by Ennio Quirino Visconti (1751–1818) who, after accurately studying
the three versions together, concluded that the group portrayed Menelaus
supporting Patroclus.
The present bronze in particular can be associated with the Pasquino cast by
Giovanni Battista Foggini (1652–1725), securely attributed to the master through
his models and piece-moulds of it, acquired by Marchese Carlo Ginori (1702–
1757) for his porcelain factory at Doccia and preserved there to this day. In this
powerful composition the theme of pathos is predominant, as an emotionally
and physically defeated Menelaus, who has barely the strength to stand, tries to
hold the lifeless body of his friend Patroclus. The distress is visible in the carefully
chiselled expression of both faces, and in the contrast between the dying Patroclus
and Menelaus’s body that is in full tension, which present an impressive study
of anatomy. Menelaus attempts to advance forwards, his gaze lost, seeking help,
while his companion’s body seems to be slipping away from his arms. The texture
of the bronze’s surface is masterfully rendered soft and naturalistic, conferring
realism to the composition.
related literature
F. Haskell and N. Penny, Taste and the Antique: The Lure of Classical Sculpture 1500–1900,
New Haven and London, 1981, pp. 291–96
