Lot 72: GIOVANNI MARIA BENZONI ITALIAN, 1809-1873

A BUST OF WINTER

measurements note
bust: 55cm., 21 5/8 in. socle: 15.5cm., 6 1/8 in.

signed and dated: G. M. BENZONI. F. ROMA. A. 1865

white marble, on a mottled green marble socle

NOTE

Benzoni studied under Giuseppe Fabri before entering the Academia di San Luca in Rome in 1828. Equally renowned for his religious work and classical subjects, he executed funerary monuments, architectural sculptures and portrait busts.

Benzoni was a truly international artist who received commissions from aristocratic families from St Petersburg to Brazil. He carried these out from his studio in Rome. His sculpture was well-known in England after he showed work at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and as a result received many English commissions. He also exhibited at the International Exhibition in Antwerp in 1861 as a representative of the Vatican.

A bust of Spring from the same series was sold in these rooms on 9th July 2004. There is a complete set of Benzoni's Four Seasons in the Melbourne Art Gallery, Australia.

RELATED LITERATURE
Panzetta, p. 27; Benezit, vol 2, p.125