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Descriptif du lot
This remarkable marble of life-size scale, almost certainly created by one of the great Florentine studios, of the late 19th century pays homage to Carlo Finelli’s(1782–1853) iconic group Ore danzanti of 1821, originally commissioned for Nikolai Demidov and now preserved in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. As a sculptor, Finelli occupies a significant position within the second generation of Italian Neoclassical sculptors who emerged in the wake of Antonio Canova’s extraordinary success. Trained in Carrara and later active in Rome, Finelli developed a sculptural language that closely engaged with Canova’s ideals of grace, ideal beauty, and rhythmic movement while introducing a distinctive decorative refinement of his own. Depicting the classical Horae - the personifications of the Hours or Seasons - the group is a choreographed sequence of movement and balance, transforming an ancient mythological subject into a harmonious visual performance.
The composition reflects the Neoclassical ambition to revive the perceived purity of Greco-Roman art, a presenting idealized female figures whose flowing draperies and synchronized gestures create a continuous rhythm not unlike Canova’s influential celebrated dancing figures, including Dancer with Hands on Hips (c. 1806–1812, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg) and Dancer with Finger on Chin (1812–1813, Museo Canoviano, Possagno). Canova’s dancers established a sculptural vocabulary centered on graceful movement and lyrical balance, which Finelli adopted in his own treatment of the Horae. With elegantly elongated proportions and fluid poses, Canova’s imprint is undeniable and would remained a popular touchpoint through the latter half of the 19th century. Notably, upon Finelli’s death, the artist ordered the destruction of plaster models with the exception of his Horae which remains in the Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara.
Finelli’s prowess in marble carving and conviction in composition are best understood in his surviving works, of which a limited number remain in major international collections. Equally significant are the plaster models that survive in Italian museums and academies, including examples associated with the Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara and Roman sculptural workshops. These plasters reveal the creative process behind finished marble works, documenting the transition from initial conception to final execution. In the case of The Dancing Hours, the relationship between preparatory plaster and completed marble would have been central to achieving the delicate balance of movement, anatomy, and drapery that characterizes the finished composition. The survival of both media underscores the workshop practices shared by Finelli and Canova, but more importantly remained available to a future generation of sculptors who turned to these works for inspiration, such as Antonio Frilli and Pietro Bazzanti who established studios dedicated to reviving such works in the late 19th century.
MARÍA AMALIA LACROZE DE FORTABAT (1921-2012):
The present marble was once part of the collection of María Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat, widely known as ‘Amalita’, one Latin America’s most influential private collectors. Born in 1921 in Portugal to prominent Argentine parents, descended from a long line of entrepreneurs, including Federico Lacrose who established Buenos Aires’ first public tramway. In 1947, Amalita married Alredo Fortabat, an Argentine titan of industry with whom she would amass major art holdings including the present group of white marble statuary. The collection is now housed in part in the AMALITA Collection, Buenos Aires, and includes works by artists such as J. M. W. Turner, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dalí, Antonio Berni, and Xul Solar.
The composition reflects the Neoclassical ambition to revive the perceived purity of Greco-Roman art, a presenting idealized female figures whose flowing draperies and synchronized gestures create a continuous rhythm not unlike Canova’s influential celebrated dancing figures, including Dancer with Hands on Hips (c. 1806–1812, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg) and Dancer with Finger on Chin (1812–1813, Museo Canoviano, Possagno). Canova’s dancers established a sculptural vocabulary centered on graceful movement and lyrical balance, which Finelli adopted in his own treatment of the Horae. With elegantly elongated proportions and fluid poses, Canova’s imprint is undeniable and would remained a popular touchpoint through the latter half of the 19th century. Notably, upon Finelli’s death, the artist ordered the destruction of plaster models with the exception of his Horae which remains in the Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara.
Finelli’s prowess in marble carving and conviction in composition are best understood in his surviving works, of which a limited number remain in major international collections. Equally significant are the plaster models that survive in Italian museums and academies, including examples associated with the Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara and Roman sculptural workshops. These plasters reveal the creative process behind finished marble works, documenting the transition from initial conception to final execution. In the case of The Dancing Hours, the relationship between preparatory plaster and completed marble would have been central to achieving the delicate balance of movement, anatomy, and drapery that characterizes the finished composition. The survival of both media underscores the workshop practices shared by Finelli and Canova, but more importantly remained available to a future generation of sculptors who turned to these works for inspiration, such as Antonio Frilli and Pietro Bazzanti who established studios dedicated to reviving such works in the late 19th century.
MARÍA AMALIA LACROZE DE FORTABAT (1921-2012):
The present marble was once part of the collection of María Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat, widely known as ‘Amalita’, one Latin America’s most influential private collectors. Born in 1921 in Portugal to prominent Argentine parents, descended from a long line of entrepreneurs, including Federico Lacrose who established Buenos Aires’ first public tramway. In 1947, Amalita married Alredo Fortabat, an Argentine titan of industry with whom she would amass major art holdings including the present group of white marble statuary. The collection is now housed in part in the AMALITA Collection, Buenos Aires, and includes works by artists such as J. M. W. Turner, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dalí, Antonio Berni, and Xul Solar.