Spinario (Boy with Thorn) by Benedetto Boschetti
Benedetto Boschetti Grand Tour Bronze
Spinario
Benedetto Boschetti, Roma
Bronze Sculpture
Signed inscribed “B. BOSCHETTI / ROMA” on the plinth
Italy
Mid-19th Century
19.75” x 9.25” x 13”
A finely modeled mid-19th-century Grand Tour bronze of the celebrated Spinario, or Boy with Thorn, signed and inscribed “B. BOSCHETTI / ROMA” on the plinth.
The composition derives from the famous ancient bronze preserved in the Capitoline Museums in Rome, depicting a seated youth removing a thorn from his foot. The Capitoline Spinario was among the antiquities donated to the Capitoline collections by Pope Sixtus IV in 1471 and became one of the most admired and frequently reproduced sculptures of antiquity.
Benedetto Boschetti operated a prominent workshop on Rome’s Via Condotti that specialized in bronzes, marble objects and reductions after celebrated antiquities for Grand Tour collectors. Sotheby’s documents other Boschetti bronzes bearing the same “B. BOSCHETTI / ROMA” signature format, including a Resting Satyr and an Augustus of Prima Porta.
This example retains a richly developed green-brown patina that gives depth to the modeling and emphasizes the carefully rendered anatomy, hair and rocky support.
Marks & Inscription
Signed and inscribed on the plinth:
B. BOSCHETTI
ROMA
The inscription is clearly preserved and documented photographically on this sculpture.
Comparative Documentation
Signed works by Benedetto Boschetti documented by major auction houses employ the same “B. BOSCHETTI / ROMA” inscription. Sotheby’s also identifies Boschetti’s Via Condotti workshop as an important Roman producer of fine bronzes after the antique for Grand Tour clientele.
Price $12,500
Related Collections: Bronze Sculpture | Grand Tour
Spinario (Boy with Thorn)
