Vincenzo Gemito

Christie’s Rome, 11 September 1996, lot 9.

After an illustrious start to his career that saw his work heralded across Western Europe while still a teenager, Vincenzo Gemito suffered a mental breakdown and spent the better part of two decades as a recluse, continuing to exercise his prodigious skills as a draughtsman but rarely sculpting. During these dark years, he is reported to have occasionally lived under the illusion that he was a member of Alexander the Great’s court. When Gemito finally emerged from his self-imposed exile and returned to sculpture, his obsession with the Macedonian king found expression in a number of his works, leading the artist’s daughter to remark that “Papa was closer to Alexander than to me, his own daughter” in an interview conducted with art critic Raffaele Carriere that was published by Corriere della Sera on 1^st September 1938.

The present work is one of the finest results of this fixation. Alexander is depicted in profile, his hair spilling out behind him while he gazes stoically forward. Adding to the drama of this piece is the serpent that frames Alexander, which is shown with its fangs bared in preparation to strike. Gemito produced three variations of this medallion – one version sold at Replica Shoes ’s London in 2008 – but the present work, with an alluring gilding and the sharply defined features of Alexander on full display, is a particularly striking portrait of the great ruler and military commander.

RELATED LITERATURE

F. Walker, “Vincenzo Gemito and His Bust of Verdi” in Music & Letters 30, no. 1 (January 1949).