Description
Signed Giorgio Sommer Napoli
From our Sculpture collection, we are please to offer this Grand Tour Fisherman Bronze Giorgio Sommer. The Grand Tour Bronze cast as a Neapolitan Fisherman after the original excavated in 1823 at Pompeii in the Casa della Fontana piccola (House of the small fountain). The finely cast Sculpture is seated upon a rocky outcrop with a Bacchus mask fountain spout beneath him. The figure bear-footed wearing a loose-fitting tunic and straw hat leans forward with his hands poised. The Grand Tour Bronze dates to the late 19th century circa 1875 and is signed around the Bacchus fountain mask G. Sommer Napoli.
Giorgio Sommer (1834–1914) was born in Frankfurt  Germany, and became one of Europe’s most important photographers of the 19th century. Active from 1857 to 1888, he produced thousands of images of archeological ruins, landscapes, art objects and portraits.
After studying business in Frankfurt, Sommer opened his first photography studio in Switzerland, where he made relief images of mountains for the Swiss government. In 1856 moved his business to Naples and later (1866) formed a partnership with fellow German photographer Edmund Behles who owned a studio in Rome. Operating from their respective Naples and Rome studios, Sommer and Behles became one of the largest and most prolific photography concerns in Italy.
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper with approximately 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such as arsenic or silicon depending on the age of the bronze and its origin. The additions of other metals produce a range of alloys that are usually harder than copper alone and carry useful properties such as strength. The earliest known use of bronze dates to the 5th millennium BCE from Iranian plateau, the bronze mix consists of arsenical copper and copper-arsenide. The earliest tin-copper-alloy recovered is dated to circa 4650 BCE and was found in Plocnik, Serbia. It is believed to have been smelted from a natural tin-copper ore.
Grand Tour was a trip taken around Europe, typically undertaken by young men. The period began in the 17th century and went through to the late 18th century. Women over the age of 21 would occasionally partake, providing they were accompanied by a chaperone from their family. The Grand Tour was seen as an educational trip across Europe, usually starting in Dover, and would see young, wealthy travellers search for arts and culture. Those on The Grand Tour would often have a healthy supply of funds in order to enjoy themselves freely. Marble busts such as this one would be for sale to tourists partaking in the grand tour and for sale as a form of souvenir to educate and remember where they had visited.
Antique a collectable object such as a piece of furniture or work of art that has a high value because of its age and quality. Objects of this nature are generally considered antique at 100 plus years of age.
Condition Very Good Antique Condition
Measurements  52cm High x 33.5cm Wide x 30cm Deep (20.47 x 13.19 x 11.81 Inches)
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