Lot 151: MICHELE VEDANI ITALIAN, 1874-1969

DR. MANGIAGALLI

measurements note
45.1cm., 17¾in.

signed: M. Vedani

bronze, rich mid-brown patina

NOTE

Dr. Luigi Mangiagalli (1849-1928) was an obstetrics physician who was responsible for the opening of the Istituti Clinici di Perfezionamento in Milan in 1906, which trained young doctors. An inspirational and influential leader, Mangiagalli later became mayor of the city and was instrumental in the establishment of the Milan University in 1924, becoming its first Rector. A three-quarter length bust of him in University robes was erected in 1925.

In the present statuette, the sculptor Michele Vedani depicts Mangiagalli in his doctor's apron standing with his hands on his hips, giving him an aura of monumentality befitting his reputation. The wonderfully fluid modelling is reminiscent of the work of Troubetzkoy and de Traubenburg, yet is entirely his own style and developed from his seminal bronze relief of The Last Kiss (1907) which formed part of the monument to the Riboni Family in the Monumentale cemetery.

RELATED LITERATURE
Berresford, p.175; Panzetta, p.278