Saint Michael

Gaetano Fumo

1740–45 · Silver · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Fumo is said to have ceased working silver in 1745 in favor of employment as an engraver at Capodimonte. In 1759, he followed Charles III to Spain, where he continued working at Buen Retiro. Here, the absence of a dragon beneath Saint Michael's feet is unusual. It has been proposed that the base itself may have belonged originally to a candlestick and that its soldered-on flat top, being made of rolled metal, must date to the late eighteenth century. This suggests that the base was adapted during that period as a pedestal for the figure, which had once stood on a dragon.

Artist

Gaetano Fumo

Date

1740–45

Medium

Silver

Culture

Italian, Naples

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Purchase, Bequest of Louis Einstein, by exchange, 1976