Love and Psyche

This wax figure depicting the group Love and Psyche created by Massimiliano Soldani Benzi (1720) is part of the precious collection of models derived from bronze archetypes of the Florentine late Baroque sculptor purchased by the marquis Carlo Ginori for his factory. 

Recorded in the 18^th century Inventory of models of the Manifattura di Doccia along with its moulds, this piece reveals a correspondence, albeit with variants, with the bronze statuette currently displayed at the Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst in Berlin. Compared to the latter, the absence of the terminal part of the fluttering drapery placed on the back of the Psyche figure stands out, which suggests a derivation from the plaster moulds also used for the execution of the bronze statuette, to which the described modifications were applied during processing. 

It is known that Giovan Battista Vannetti, student of Soldani, made wax moulds for the Manifattura Ginori from Soldani Benzi’s works and therefore, we can hypothesize that he is also the author of this model. Some porcelain versions of Love and Psyche are known, made by the Manifattura di Doccia, including one dating to 1750 and originating from the collection of Marquis Emanuele Taparelli d’Azeglio, now in the Museo Civico in Turin.