Lot 115: An important Italian marble figure of 'Eve', on pedestal

By Scipione Tadolini, Roma, Dated 1875
The oval naturalistc base signed to the back EQ. SCIPIO. TADOLINI. ROMAE. 1875, on an oval shaped plinth atop a stepped pedestal decorated with ribbon-tied floral and fruit garlands
The figure: 43 in. (109 cm.) high; 37 in. (94 cm.) wide; 24 in. (61 cm.) deep; The pedestal: 37 in. (84 cm.) high; 39 1/2 in. (100.5 cm.) wide; 28 in. (71 cm.) deep

A. Panzetta, Dizionario Degli Scultori Italiani dell'Ottocento,
Torino, 1990, Vol. I, p. 263 and Vol. II, p. 188, no. 777 (another example illustrated).

Scipione Tadolini (1822-1892) was born and worked in Rome. He trained under his father, the renowned sculptor Adamo Tadolini (1788-1868). Adamo had worked under Antonio Canova (1757-1822), remaining in his studio until 1822, executing on Canova's behalf the colossal figure of Religione for the Basilica of St. Peter, and many copies of Canova's mythological work.

The queen of Italy and Pope Pius IX visited Scipione's studio and his prolific oeuvre includes the first Roman bust of King Vittorio Emanuele I; his work in the churches of Sant' Andrea della Valle and Gonfalone; and his bust of Cardinal Giuseppe Alberghini. His most celebrated monumental works are the 1870 monument to Vittorio Emanuele II in the Senato, and his monument to Simon Bolivar in Lima. Scipione's work was also acclaimed abroad: he exhibited his bust of Pope Pius IX at the Royal Academy in 1853; and his St. Michael is now in Boston.

Scipione continued his father's tradition of classicising and monumental sculpture, and in keeping with the fascination of the period, developed his interest in the classical nude. His two most celebrated works in the latter category are the Slave Girl and the present work, Eve, another example of which is in the collection of the Kibble Palace, Botanic Gardens, Glasgow.

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