Early 20th century Italian historicist school Portrait... Lot 19

Early 20th century Italian historicist school Portrait of a woman in the Quattrocento style Terracotta bust Dim.: 67.5 cm, on a blackened wood column H.: 101.8 cm Related works : -Andrea del Verrocchio, Woman with flowers, marble, Florence, Museo Nationale del Bargello, Inv. 115S ; -Giovanni Bastianini, Beatrice Portinari, plaster, Florence, Galleria d'arte moderna; -Alceo Dossena, Madonna with Sleeping Child, first quarter of 20th century, terracotta, H. 38 cm, Pescia, Musei Civici. Related literature: -Anita Fiderer Moskowitz, Forging authencity, Bastianini and the Neo-Renaissance in Ninetheenth-century Florence, Arte e archeologia, studio e documenti, 32, Leo S. OlschkiEditore, 2013, cat. 31 and cat. 32 ; -Dario Del Bufalo, Marco Horak (eds.), Il falso nell'arte. Alceo Dossena e la scultura italianadel rinascimento, cat. exp. Mart, Museo di arte moderna e contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, October 3, 2021 -January 9, 2022, Roma, L'Erma di Bretschneider, 2021, p. 163. From the second half of the 19th century onwards, Italian artists began to celebrate Renaissance works through imitation. Among the most notable of these so-called historicist artists was Giovanni Bastianni (1830-1868), who used the canons of the Quattrocento, particularly in his busts. His aim was not to deceive, but to satisfy the desires of a wealthy clientele who liked to surround themselves with originals as well as reinterpretations. This portrait of a woman perfectly illustrates this pronounced taste for a golden age of society and creation. It is executed in the preferred material of the admired period, terracotta. Skillfully modeled in accordance with Renaissance codes, this bust marks its originality and its belonging to a neo-Florentine school by the lady's arms delicately crossed over her belly. There are very few examples of this type of bust cutout, most of which are finished below the shoulders, the most striking and illustrious being Andrea del Verrochio's Femme aux fleurs (Woman with Flowers), now in the Bargello in Florence. Our work could have been created by Alceo Dossena (1878-1937) or his entourage in the early 20th century. Indeed, the treatment of the angular, elongated hands is very similar to some of these fine sculptures, such as the Madonna and Sleeping Child (H.: 38 cm, terracotta, museo Civici di Pescia).