Giuseppe Grandi

Guido Marangoni (1872-1941), Villa Reale, Monza

Overall, the condition of the bronze is good, with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. There are stable original casting plugs to the bronze, including to around the face and the neck, and one larger plug to the drapery on the proper right side. There is some pitting to the surface in areas. There are a few minor casting fissures, including to the neck at the fold of the open collar. There is minor greening to the bronze on the proper right side. There is a square patch to the top of the terrasse on the proper right side.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Giuseppe Grandi was one of the most important Italian sculptors of the second half of the the 19th century. He was also a painter and printmaker, but it was in sculpture where his influence was most deeply felt, leaving a lasting impression on the work of such important artists as Paul Troubetzkoy and Medardo Rosso. 

Grandi began his artistic career at Milan's Brera Academy in the early 1860s, where he studied drawing and sculpture. In the late 1860s and early 1870s he became part of the Milanese avant-guarde group styling themselves La Sapigliatura, which translates literally as 'dishevelledness'. Among their aims was to break up mass into the surrounding space. The present half figure of the young Beethoven, dating from this period, seems to succeed in this endeavour as he reaches his hand beyond the confines of the sculpture's traditional space and towards invisible keys. The jutting angular treatment of the hair and collar also seem to escape these confines. Another cast of the Beethoven Giovinetto is in the Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Turin.  

RELATED LITERATURE
A. Panzetta, Nuovo dizionario degli scultori italiani, Turin, 2003, vol. 1, p. 442; I. Wardropper and F. Licht (eds.), Chiseled with a Brush: Italian Sculpture, 1860-1925, from the Gilgore Collections, exh. cat. The Art Institute of Chicago and Denver Art Museum, Chicago, 1994, pp. 49-57