Lot Essay
The model for this sculpture is Francesca Blanc, to whom her mother, the Baroness Blanc, introduced Manzù when she was still a child. The chair on which she is seated was the only piece of furniture Manzù brought from his family home in Bergamo and it held great significance for the artist. Francesca posed for Manzù over a number of years, and the sculptor traced her growth into a young woman. Francesca later married Prince Dado Ruspoli, the most renowned member of the social circle which Federico Felini dubbed La Dolce Vita, the title he gave his most famous film.