Apollo Belvedere
Sculptor: Antico (Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi)
The sculptor Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi was nicknamed 'Antico' due to his unrivalled skill in replicating works of antiquity. This statuette is a reduced-scale copy of the famous life-size Classical marble statue known as the Apollo Belvedere due to its location documented from 1511 in the Vatican’s Belvedere Courtyard. It was excavated in Rome in 1489, and quickly acquired by Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere (later Pope Julius II). When Antico studied it in the late 1490s, the statue was in the gardens of Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere at SS Apostoli. At that time, the statue’s left forearm and right hand were still missing (these were restored in 1532), so Antico re-invented them.
Alongside his skill in replicating antique works (and hence his nickname), Antico developed an innovative casting process which allowed him to create several versions in bronze from the same original moulds. The Fitzwilliam statuette was likely made for a wealthy member of the Gonzaga court at Mantua; Antico is documented as having made at least one version of the statuette for Bishop Ludovico Gonzaga before November 1498.
In addition to the Fitzwilliam statuette, there are two further known copies. The first, and most likely the earliest as it is signed, is in the collection of the Liebieghaus Museum, Frankfurt. The second is in the Galleria Franchetti alla Ca’ d’Oro, Venice.
History note: Alfred Beit (1853-1906), London, by 1904 when referenced in the catalogue of his collection; bequeathed to Sir Otto Beit, Bt. (1865-1930), London, and by descent to Sir Alfred Beit, Bt. (1903-1994), Bt., London; Sotheby's, London, 7 October 1948, lot 119 (£1,200 to Alfred Spero for Lt. Col. the Hon. M.T. Boscawen, D.S.O., M.C.). Lt. Col. the Hon. M.T. Boscawen, and by descent to the Hon. Mrs. Pamela Sherek. Bequeathed by the Hon. Mrs. Pamela Sherek, in memory of the late Lt. Col. the Hon. M.T. Boscawen, D.S.O., M.C., to The University of Cambridge; sold privately on behalf of the University of Cambridge to settle duties on the bequest. From the collection of Cecil and Hilda Lewis, from whose Estate allocated to the Fitzwilliam Museum by HM Government.
Accepted in Lieu of Tax by HM Government in 2023 and allocated to the Fitzwilliam Museum
Height: 41.3 cm
Method of acquisition: Allocated (2023) by HM Government
16th Century
Production date:
circa
AD 1505
Base
composed of
wood
( modern)
Diameter 14.2 cm
Part
composed of
gilded
( surface gilding)
Eyes
composed of
silver
Figure
Diameter 24 cm
Cast (process)
: Bronze figure, cast, chased, patinated and partially gilt and with silvered eyes on a modern wood base
Patinated
Chased
Accession number: M.14-2023
Primary reference Number: 288690
Previous Number when on Loan: AAL.2-2021
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Apollo Belvedere" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/288690 Accessed: 2025-12-05 03:54:49
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/288690
|title=Apollo Belvedere
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 03:54:49|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-288690
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