Giulio Monteverde

Private collection, Paris

Paris, Exposition universelle, 1878

Overall the condition of the marble is good, with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. There are some well-concealed reattachments to the head of the chicken. Three of the fingers of the child's proper right hand are also reattached. There are a few small naturally occurring inclusions to the marble, including at the proper right eyelid, and the proper right arm and leg. There is slight natural veining to the marble, notably to the child's proper left arm and back. There are a few chips, notably one to the proper left wing of the chicken.
"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."

Born in Bistagno, Giulio Monteverde’s learning began in Genoa under the guidance of Santo Varni at the Accademia Ligustica di Belli Arti, who instilled in his style a warmth and realism that persisted throughout his oeuvre. Such charm is made manifest in the present sculpture, which features a definite focus on the emotional expression of the playful Bambino. Although he spent most of his career in Rome, having gained the financial means to do so after  winning the Pensionato Artistico Triennale in 1865, the Italian’s sculptures were exhibited across Europe’s cultural zeniths and as far as Buenos Aires.

Although Monteverde’s neoclassical and historical compositions are among his best known, his genre works are his most distinctive; it is in works such as the present sculpture where his artistic creativity and amalgamation of Romanticism and Realism are allowed to flourish. Such elements helped to elevate Monteverde to one of the most fashionable Italian sculptors in Europe and the Americas, and contributed to the vogue for Italian verismo sculpture towards the late nineteenth century.

The artists of the verismo movement preferred topics of the present day to the idealising, stagnant forms of Neoclassicism, where compositions such as the present marble would be deemed banal, perhaps even degenerate. Monteverde’s finest achievement in this style was his intensely emotional sculpture of Edward Jenner Injecting a Vaccine into his Son, which was unveiled at the Vienna International Exhibition of 1878 to critical acclaim. Combining dramatic tension with overt discomfort, the composition is an antithesis to the intimate representations of Madonna and Child so clearly recalled. The sculpture earned him a medal of honour, which preceded his commemoration as an Officer of the Légion d’Honneur the same year.

RELATED LITERATURE
E. Bénézit, Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs, Paris, 1999, p.783