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Lot Essay
With elegant lines and a certain tenderness often associated with Ferdinando Vichi's Romantic oeuvre, the present group of Cupid and Psyche cemented the artist's reputation with his contemporaries, such as Cesare Lapini and Vitorrio Caradossi whose works had become internationally lauded by a global clientele. Vichi, a student of Zocchi and subsequently an exhibitor at the Exposition Universelle, particularly excelled in multi-subject groupings such as the present lot wherein the artist could demonstrate the highest degree of technique and composition.
Notably, the present composition closely relates to Salvatore Albano's (d. 1893) study of of the same subject dating to 1881 and reputably carved for the lobby of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York (see Christie's, New York, 19-20 October 2011, lot 69). Albano's genius and virtuosity as one of Italy's pre-eminent sculptors of the late 19th century was undeniably an influence to the next generation of studio sculptors such as Vichi who became active in Pietro Bazzanti's atelier in the early 20th Century.
Notably, the present composition closely relates to Salvatore Albano's (d. 1893) study of of the same subject dating to 1881 and reputably carved for the lobby of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York (see Christie's, New York, 19-20 October 2011, lot 69). Albano's genius and virtuosity as one of Italy's pre-eminent sculptors of the late 19th century was undeniably an influence to the next generation of studio sculptors such as Vichi who became active in Pietro Bazzanti's atelier in the early 20th Century.