'A Declaration' - An Unusual Specimen Marble Figural Group

Object Description

‘A Declaration’ – An Unusual Specimen Marble Figural Group By Prof. Aristide Petrilli, On A Revolving Pedestal.

Signed ‘PROF. A.Petrilli-FIRENZE’.

This remarkable neo-classical style figural group depicts a courting couple in conversation, seated on a bench.

Petrilli skilfully combines rare specimen marbles: red onyx, brèche violette marble, yellow sienna marble, lapis lazuli and malachite, with moulded glass and bronze, to create a harmonious and sophisticated composition – an intimate moment frozen in time; reminiscent of the neo-classical Greco-Roman subjects of artists such as Lawrence Alma-Tadema and John William Godward.

The reverse of the group is centred by an exquisite cameo roundel depicting Apollo and his chariot and the whole is raised on a revolving verde antico marble pedestal.

Object History

Petrilli was born in Tivoli, Lazio and studied at the Art Institute of Florence and then the Academy in 1889-90. He worked with Raffaello Romanelli before setting up his own studio at Via Dei Serragli in Florence.

Petrilli, like his contemporaries Caradossi and Frilli, is best known for his romanticised depictions of Renaissance and Neo-Classical themes often employing different coloured marbles, or gilt highlights.

He exhibited a bust of Joan of Arc at the Paris International Exhibition of 1900 and Wrestling Bacchantes at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition (St. Louis World’s Fair).

Object Literature

Alfonso Panzetta, ‘Nuovo Dizionario degli Scultori Italiani Dell ‘Ottocento e del Primo Novecento’, Adarte 2003, page 690.

Object Details