Object Description
A life-size marble statue of a woman, made and signed by Italian sculptor, Ernesto Gazzeri (1866-1965). This herm style statue reputedly depicts a member of the Larrain family; a historic and influential Chilean family of European descent. It has a neoclassical elegance, and tells the story of both sculptor and family, offering a glimpse into the life of early 20th century Europe.
An excellent example of an Ernesto Gazzeri sculpture, this impressive antique statue reflects the artist’s sculpting excellence for which he was highly celebrated. Gazzeri beautifully captures the features of the female bust in statuary white marble, the profile defined by strong and highly detailed facial features. The female’s head and shoulders sit above swathes of sienna marble as if draped in cloth above a tapering base in distinctive term-style, making for a striking contrast of colour.
Signed by the artist, the sienna marble base is inscribed to the front with a coat of arms, reputedly quartered with the Basque families of Navarre, Topalda of Navarre and Maldonado of Castille alongside another unidentified family crest.
Ernesto Gazzeri was born in the North Italian province of Modena in 1866, later moving to Rome. Here he became a famed marble sculptor known for his sculptural portraits and funerary monuments, inspired by the ancient architecture and classical statuary of the Italian capital. Some of his most celebrated works include his monument to renaissance philosopher Tommaso Campanella (1923) located in the Italian town of Stilo and the large scale The Mystery of Life statue (1928) at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Southern California.