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Lot Essay
"Amendola's sculpture is based on one of Leighton's most popular paintings, Wedded, of 1881-2 in the Art Gallery of New South Wales. It was one of the first to be reproduced as a print and became widely known as a result. Leighton had been elected as President of the Royal Academy in 1878, and was knighted in the same year. His position as a pillar of the art establishment was thereby confirmed.
Leighton's painting is a tender portrayal of young married love. Two figures, in Italianate classical dress, stand in a window arch high above the surrounding landscape. The man is dark and swarthy, the girl golden-haired and dressed in rich brocades. His gesture of kissing his bride's fingertips, whilst she bends her head back on his shoulder, is both delicate and sensuous. Amendola is faithful to Leighton's pose, and his bronze captures the painting's sensuality" (R Ash, Lord Leighton, London, 1995, no. 25)
Leighton's painting is a tender portrayal of young married love. Two figures, in Italianate classical dress, stand in a window arch high above the surrounding landscape. The man is dark and swarthy, the girl golden-haired and dressed in rich brocades. His gesture of kissing his bride's fingertips, whilst she bends her head back on his shoulder, is both delicate and sensuous. Amendola is faithful to Leighton's pose, and his bronze captures the painting's sensuality" (R Ash, Lord Leighton, London, 1995, no. 25)