Lot 10: Two Children in a Crib - A Risorgimento Allegory

Antonio Tantardini (Italian, 1829-1879)
Two Children in a Crib - A Risorgimento Allegory
signed and dated 'Anio. Tantanrdini Fce. 1863.' (on the base); inscribed 'XV GARIBALDI' (on the older child's medallion); further inscribed with the initials 'AR' (on the crib)
marble
48½ x 49 in. (123 x 124.5 cm.)
Executed in 1863.

Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 28 June 2007, lot 17.

Antonio Tantardini was born in Milan and worked and lived in his native city until the time of his death at the early age of forty. It is perhaps the fact that the artist's career was quite short that his works are rare and highly-prized.

Tantardini as a young man served as a volunteer in one of Garibaldi's campaigns and was seriously wounded. The relative peace of the studio must have appealed to the ex-soldier, and he devoted himself entirely to his art. Tantardini became one of the most sought-after and beloved artists of Italy and his reputation spread throughout the world. Upon his death on March 7, 1879 his obituary appeared in The New York Times and he is described as a 'genial gentleman, who, as a juror from Italy at the Centennial Exposition in 1876, by his amiability and unvarying good humor, rendered the arduous labors of the commission almost a pastime.'

The obituary goes on to offer a description of the reception of the artist's work at the Centennial Exposition:

'To his efforts were due the overwhelming success which Italy obtained in the Memorial Building. His works are numerous. His memorial of the Arnaboldi family - one of his late productions - is the delight of a constant stream of sight-seers. His 'Angel of the Resurrection' was conceived in so poetic a strain as to wring praises from the sternest critics. His statue of 'Italy' in the Cavour Monument, in Milan, and his base-relief representing one of the 'Sermons on the Mount', now in the Cathedral of Milan, and his colossal 'Moses' intended for the unfinished court of that wondrous building, won him decorations from the late Victor Emmanuel. His nude 'Vanity' and 'The Mirror' are to be found in numerous galleries throughout Europe, and his group of 'Faust and Marguerite' became so popular that no less than 20 copies were ordered in a single year.'

In a country famed for its skilled carvers and working in an age when virtuoso carving technique was highly prized, Antonio Tantardini was considered one of the very best master carvers in 19th Century Italy. Vicario describes Tantardini's skill as ' un abilitá tecnica stupefacente. '

The present marble group epitomizes Tantardini's exceptional talents as a carver. Lesser sculptors might never have attempted to carve a life-size wicker crib in marble, but Tantardini has clearly relished the challenge. The result is a stunning achievement of verismo Italian sculpture.

This marble group, however, is more than a masterwork of Italian marble sculpture. It is also a prime example of the use of Risorgimento allegory in Italian sculpture of the 1860s. Famous sculptural Risorgimento allegories include Raffaelle Monti's Sleep of Sorrow and Dream of Joy, in the Victoria & Albert Museum (fig. 1) and Pietro Magni's Reading Girl, which is now in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (fig. 2). In the present work, the device used to indicate the underlying meaning is a discreet medallion hanging around the neck of the child, inscribed with the words Garibaldi; in the Reading Girl there is also a portrait relief of Garibaldi on the medallion worn by the girl. The specific identity of the children is not known but the carved initials AR on the crib may relate to the Realini family. The two children represented in this marble group are therefore meant to represent the future of the new united Italy. By 1863 unification was almost complete, but the fledgling nation was still in conflict, with the Third Battle of Independence yet to be won. Subtle allegorical sculptures such as those by Monti, Magni and Tantardini served to endorse the legitimacy of the Risorgimento .

(fig. 1) Raffaelle Magni, Sleep of Sorrow and Dream of Joy , (Victoria and Albert Museum, London).

(fig. 2) Pietro Magni, Reading Girl (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.).