Ambrogio Borghi

Thomas Stanford, California
Stanford University, California (as a bequest from the above)
John and Lorraine Rickey, Palo Alto, California (acquired from the above in 1949)

Borghi employed careful observation and study to inform his pair of portraits, infusing tenderness into a baby’s soft cheek and the protecting arms of a loving mother. These works demonstrate a high technical virtuosity --- their sensitive detail of both human expression and realistic textures and surfaces a mastery of form and drapery.  In his most productive decades of the late nineteenth century, the sculptor’s diverse repertoire included historical figures (Oliver Cromwell), to public monuments (Monument to Independence, Treviso, Italy), and genre subjects, such as the present pair.  The audience for Borghi’s work was international, and he exhibited extensively throughout Europe.  Because of their scale and strong, visual appeal, his works were often key elements in the decorative collections of great estates, displayed in gardens and elsewhere.   Indeed, the present pair could last be viewed among the sprawling sixteen acres of landscape of the landmark Hyatt Rickey’s hotel in Palo Alto, California delighting generations of guests with their tender appeal.