VITTORIO CARADOSSI (ITALIAN, 1861-1918)
VITTORIO CARADOSSI (ITALIAN, 1861-1918)
VITTORIO CARADOSSI (ITALIAN, 1861-1918)
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VITTORIO CARADOSSI (ITALIAN, 1861-1918)
14 More
Property from the Barbara Piasecka Johnson Collection
VITTORIO CARADOSSI (ITALIAN, 1861-1918)

Falling Stars

Details
VITTORIO CARADOSSI (ITALIAN, 1861-1918)
Falling Stars
signed 'Prof. V. Caradossi' (to the base)
marble
63 in. (160 cm.) high
Executed circa 1900.
Provenance
Anonymous sale; Sotheby’s, New York, 22 February 1989, lot 120.
Acquired by present owner at above sale.

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Lot Essay

The present group of intertwined personifications of falling stars is a prime example of the highly decorative groups and depictions of celestial and ethereal nudes in which the artist Vittorio Caradossi specialized. Here, the virtuoso sculptor effortlessly achieves uninhibited movement, the drapery billowing against the stars’ bodies as they spiral downwards.
Conceived with fluid, sinuous and often organic forms, his studio's output coincided with the emergence of a 'new style' at the turn of the 20th century – the Art Nouveau – which was lauded for its ingenuity in all manner of sculpture and decorative art at the 1900 Exposition universelle, where the artist exhibited his celebrated statue of the Renaissance artist Desiderio da Settignano. Caradossi exhibited this model at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904 as well, illustrated here. Falling Stars is technically superb and most of Caradossi's œuvre is dominated by these highly decorative and commercial groups, such as Tre Nereidi (Three Mermaids), Il Fumo che sale verso le Nubi (Smoke Sweeping up to the Clouds), and the present lot.
The exceptionally balanced present model proved to be enduringly popular, having resulted in the production of numerous subsequent versions, including one sold Christie's, New York, 31 October 2018, lot 17 ($516,500)

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