BY RUDOLF (RIDOLFO) SCHADOW (1786-1822), ROME, 1819

Details

A WHITE MARBLE FIGURE OF THE SANDAL BINDER (SANDALBINDERIN)
BY RUDOLF (RIDOLFO) SCHADOW (1786-1822), ROME, 1819
Signed and dated 'RUDOLPH SCHADOW / FEC : ROMAE 1819'; on a grey marble base
120 cm. (47 ¼ in.) high

Provenance

Private collection, Italy.

Literature

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
D.C. Johnson, ‘Rudolf Schadows Sandalbinderin in Rom und Amerika,’ Forschungen und Berichte, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 1983, XXIII, pp. 113-122.
G. Eckardt, Ridolfo Schadow: Ein Bildhauer in Rom zwischen Klassizismus und Romantik, Cologne, 2000, pp. 30-31 and 82-86.

Exhibited

Almost certainly the example presented at the ‘Nazarene’ exhibition of German artists residing in Rome, organized in April 1819 by Baron Barthold Georg Niebuhr (1776–1831) at the Palazzo Caffarelli on the Capitoline Hill, on the occasion of the visit of Emperor Francis I of Austria and his wife.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

The Sandal Binder is a brilliantly carved marble that captures both emotional restraint and intimate sensitivity. The sculpture portrays a young girl fastening her sandal with remarkable anatomical precision and classical elegance. Schadow’s work was deeply informed by his artistic upbringing and extensive study of Greco-Roman sculpture. This composition is widely celebrated for its cool yet tender portrayal, exemplifying the neoclassical ideals of clarity, form, and refined emotion. A striking testament to Schadow’s originality and skill, the piece remains one of the artist's most iconic compositions.

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