Giocomo Zoffoli
The 'Apollo Belvedere'after 1763-before 1805

On view:

Geffen Galleries, floor 2

Bronze sculpture of a standing nude male figure with contrapposto stance, arm extended, wearing a draped cloak over one shoulder, with deep green patina

Close-up of a dark patinated bronze base with incised Latin-script lettering reading "G. ZOFFOLI. F"

Artist or Maker: Giocomo Zoffoli
Italy, circa 1731-1785
Artist or Maker: Giovanni Zoffoli
Italy, circa 1745-1805
Title: The 'Apollo Belvedere'
Place Made: Italy
Date Made: after 1763-before 1805
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: 13 1/2 x 8 1/2 x 7 in. (34.29 x 21.59 x 17.78 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation by exchange
Accession Number: AC1997.54.1
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: European Painting and Sculpture
Curatorial Notes: One of the most celebrated classical Roman sculptures, the grand marble Apollo (mid-2nd century CE) was unearthed in 1509 and displayed shortly thereafter in the Belvedere Courtyard, a semipublic space in the Vatican, where it has been on view nearly continuously ever since (see M.79.49 for the reasons for the interruption). This massive standing figure with left arm aloft became one of the most frequently copied European works of art. Artists used its distinct pose over and again in an effort to signal antiquity, beginning with Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo and countless numbers that followed (AC1994.128.1).

It was only toward the end of the seventeenth century that accurate sculptural replicas of the large work began to be produced for visitors to Rome on the Grand Tour. During the second half of the eighteenth century, the market for such high-end souvenirs in bronze was dominated by the foundry of the Italian brothers Giacomo and Giovanni Zoffoli. This cast is rich in detail, and the bronze has a green patina reminiscent of ancient bronzes. Given that the large Roman marble was understood to have been modeled after a Greek bronze original from some 300 years earlier, the medium of bronze would have been a suitable iteration for such a reduction.

2025

Giocomo Zoffoli
The 'Apollo Belvedere'after 1763-before 1805

On view:

Geffen Galleries, floor 2

Artist or Maker: Giocomo Zoffoli
Italy, circa 1731-1785
Artist or Maker: Giovanni Zoffoli
Italy, circa 1745-1805
Title: The 'Apollo Belvedere'
Place Made: Italy
Date Made: after 1763-before 1805
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: 13 1/2 x 8 1/2 x 7 in. (34.29 x 21.59 x 17.78 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation by exchange
Accession Number: AC1997.54.1
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: European Painting and Sculpture
Curatorial Notes: One of the most celebrated classical Roman sculptures, the grand marble Apollo (mid-2nd century CE) was unearthed in 1509 and displayed shortly thereafter in the Belvedere Courtyard, a semipublic space in the Vatican, where it has been on view nearly continuously ever since (see M.79.49 for the reasons for the interruption). This massive standing figure with left arm aloft became one of the most frequently copied European works of art. Artists used its distinct pose over and again in an effort to signal antiquity, beginning with Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo and countless numbers that followed (AC1994.128.1).

It was only toward the end of the seventeenth century that accurate sculptural replicas of the large work began to be produced for visitors to Rome on the Grand Tour. During the second half of the eighteenth century, the market for such high-end souvenirs in bronze was dominated by the foundry of the Italian brothers Giacomo and Giovanni Zoffoli. This cast is rich in detail, and the bronze has a green patina reminiscent of ancient bronzes. Given that the large Roman marble was understood to have been modeled after a Greek bronze original from some 300 years earlier, the medium of bronze would have been a suitable iteration for such a reduction.

2025