Sculpture, Centauri "furietti" - 45 cm - Bronze

These splendid sculptures are bronze replicas from the Grand Tour period of the famous Furietti Centaurs (known as the Old Centaur and the Young Centaur), whose marble originals from the 2nd century AD, unearthed at Villa Adriana in 1736, are today housed in the Capitoline Museums.

The two works form a fascinating allegory of the seasons of life and the sorrows of love. On the right, the Young Centaur embodies the carefree nature of youth not yet subjugated by feelings: he advances with a radiant expression, his arm raised in a festive gesture and the other gripping a Dionysian shepherd’s staff together with a pelt. On the left, in perfect contrast, the Old Centaur represents wisdom and mature age bent and tormented by love: his body makes a dramatic twist backward, with arms bound behind his back and the bearded face marked by deep and resigned suffering.

The finish of these bronzes is of the highest level, characterized by a warm brown-reddish patina that enhances the splendid anatomical rendering of the musculature, the plasticity of the curly hair, and the dynamism of the tails in the wind, making them perfect examples of that cultivated collecting which celebrated classical archaeology.