La raffica di vento (The gust of wind)

Born to a noble Neapolitan family, Lanzirotti completed his studies in Palermo before embarking on a peripatetic life spent between Paris, where he completed his training as a sculptor, and Italy, where he served as a revolutionary, as a fervent supporter of Sicilian independence and eventually the unification of Italy. Lanzirotti's first major work, The Education of Bacchus, was exhibited at the 1855 Exposition Universelle, Paris, and by 1863 the artist was appointed portrait sculptor to the newly crowned King Victor Emmanuel II. Today works by the artist may be found in such prestigious collections as Château de Compiègne, the Louvre, Paris, and the Victoria & Albert, London.