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Lot Essay
Troubetzkoy’s portrait of the painter Giovanni Segantini was executed in 1896, following the sculptor’s meeting with the artist in Milan that same year. Contemporary accounts record that the sculptor initially struggled to resolve the composition, arriving at the final pose on Segantini’s last day in the city. The resulting bust, notable for its striking presence and vitality, would become one of the sculptor’s most admired works. Another cast is preserved in the Museo del Paesaggio di Verbania.
The sitter is presented at a relevantly young age, his head turned to the right, with his thumbs hooked beneath his waistcoat, pulling back the lapels of his jacket. His full beard and thick hair are rendered with a vigorous almost disordered modelling. The handling of the surface reflects Troubetzkoy’s impressionistic approach to sculpture, privileging immediacy of perception over finish, and conveying a strong sense of presence.
Paolo Troubetzkoy (1866-1938) was the son of a Russian prince and the American singer Ada Winans. Raised in a cosmopolitan and artistic milieu, he developed an independent approach to sculpture, outside academic conventions. After brief studies in Milan, he established his reputation through portraiture and public monuments, working in Italy, Russia, Paris, and the United States. He is often described by contemporaries as an ‘impressionist sculptor’, his distinctive style privileging spontaneity and the direct observation of life.
Giovanni Segantini (1858-1899) rose from a background of extreme poverty to become one of the major exponents of Italian Divisionism and Symbolism. Renowned for his depictions of large Alpine landscapes, often imbued with spiritual and allegorical meaning, he achieved international recognition during his lifetime, notably with a dedicated room at the Salon des XX in 1890.
The sitter is presented at a relevantly young age, his head turned to the right, with his thumbs hooked beneath his waistcoat, pulling back the lapels of his jacket. His full beard and thick hair are rendered with a vigorous almost disordered modelling. The handling of the surface reflects Troubetzkoy’s impressionistic approach to sculpture, privileging immediacy of perception over finish, and conveying a strong sense of presence.
Paolo Troubetzkoy (1866-1938) was the son of a Russian prince and the American singer Ada Winans. Raised in a cosmopolitan and artistic milieu, he developed an independent approach to sculpture, outside academic conventions. After brief studies in Milan, he established his reputation through portraiture and public monuments, working in Italy, Russia, Paris, and the United States. He is often described by contemporaries as an ‘impressionist sculptor’, his distinctive style privileging spontaneity and the direct observation of life.
Giovanni Segantini (1858-1899) rose from a background of extreme poverty to become one of the major exponents of Italian Divisionism and Symbolism. Renowned for his depictions of large Alpine landscapes, often imbued with spiritual and allegorical meaning, he achieved international recognition during his lifetime, notably with a dedicated room at the Salon des XX in 1890.