CIRCLE OF UBALDO GANDOLFI (1728-1781), SECOND HALF 18TH CENTURY

Ubaldo Gandolfi was a remarkable figure in 18th century Italian art. He was not only an accomplished sculptor but also a respected painter and draughtsman as well. Few documented works in terracotta by him exist, but stylistic comparisons to his 1770-75 painting of Mercury About to Behead Argus, (North Carolina Museum of Art) for example, and his terracotta figure of Vulcan (formerly Heim Gallery - Autumn 1969) demonstrate the same fascination with musculature and sombre facial expressions. His two formidable stucco sculptures of Jeremiah and Isaiah in S. Giuliano, Bologna, executed between 1778-81, pay similar attention to the rendering of the hands, feet and hair.

His brother, Gaetano Gandolfi, was an equally talented, although less prominent craftsman, and one need only look at the Christ figure of his Lamentation group in the Santuario della Madonna di S. Luca, Bologna, to see the similarity in style and compositional form that both Gandolifi brothers shared.