Lot 3: SCIPIONE TADOLINI

SCIPIONE TADOLINI ITALIAN 1822 - 1892 ADONIS signed: EQ.SCIPIO.TADOLINI.ROMAE.1873 white marble 114cm., 45in.

The Tadolini family occupies a fascinating position in the history of Roman sculpture. Four generations of the family of stone carvers lived and worked in the same studio for some 150 years. Scipione Tadolini was the eldest son of Adamo, the celebrated assistant to Antonio Canova. Moving away from a strict classicism, Scipione imbues classical subject matter with the Romantic spirit. Scipione was overwhelmed with commissions, including a marble for the church of Gonfalone in Rome, an equestrian statue of Bolivar for Lima and the very important bust of King Vittorio Emanuele I. The present marble, with its contraposto pose, recalls antique depictions of idealised youths, such as the Belvedere Antinous. However, Scipione's Adonis, with his wavy hair, is a more romantic figure and successfully evokes the pastoral through the inclusion of the hare.

RELATED LITERATURE
A. Panzetta, Nuovo dizionario degli scultori italiani, vol. 2, Turin, 2003, p. 900-1