Vincenzo Gemito

Acquired directly from the artist by Mr Bellacosa, June 1928;

Dr Michele Bagnarelli, Milan, by 1953;

Sotheby's London, 28 October 2014, lot. 275.

Alessandro Cutolo, 'Il 'Vasaio' di Gemito', Il Mezzogiorno, Naples, 1953/1954

This sculpture is of exceptional rarity, being the prime bronze version of a model of which only two other casts are known: one in the Civica Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Milan, and another sold in these rooms on 12 June 2006, lot 102. Gemito’s original wax is likewise preserved in the Civica Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Milan (de Marinis, op. cit., figs. 265–67).

Conceived around 1915 as a wax model, Il Vasaio represents a significant stage in Gemito’s continual reworking of his celebrated Acquaiolo, first created over forty years earlier. The theme evolved from the slender, contemporary street urchin holding a jug and offering a cup of water, through to the more classicising figures of boys and girls with amphorae in La Sorgente (circa 1908), culminating in the present Vasaio and the Fanciulla con anfora.

The striking physiognomy of the Vasaio recalls Gemito’s busts and reliefs of Alexander the Great, while also evoking the monumental bust of Antinous in the Vatican Museums, Rome, discovered at Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli. Throughout his career, Gemito remained deeply engaged with the art of antiquity, a fascination clearly reflected in this work.

What further distinguishes the present bronze is its inscription, explicitly declaring the sculpture to be the artist’s own creation and design. This feature, absent from the other known casts, underscores the significance of the present example as the prime bronze version of the model.

Related Literature

B. Mantura (ed.), Temi di Vincenzo Gemito, exh. cat., Palazzo Racani Arroni, Spoleto, 1989, no. 153.

M. S. de Marinis, Gemito, Rome, 1993, figs. 43, 265–67.