Amleto Cataldi

Overall the condition of the marble is very good with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. The marble retains its original highly polished surface and has a beautiful patina consistent with age. The proper right index finger and middle finger are reattached. These restorations have been very well executed and are only slightly visible. There are some minor chips and abrasions around the edges of the base and to the tree trunk and proper left ear and a few minor abrasions to the bun of hair at the back. There are some restored grazes to the upper back and a few further minor grazes including to the proper left forearm and abdomen on the proper left side. There is veining to the marble consistent with the material, in particular, to the proper right arm and proper right hip. There are a few small naturally occurring inclusions to the marble including to the base and to the proper left shoulder. There are some very minor specks of paint including to the chest and to the tree stump. There are some minor dirt marks including an orange mark to the proper right shin and some silver and blackish marks to the tree stump and base. There is some wax between the legs.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

'A living expression always combined with rhythmic harmony'
Auguste Rodin, discussing Cataldi's oeuvre in 1923

Amleto Cataldi was one of the most celebrated sculptors of his generation. A rare artist, his marbles seldom come up at auction. Born in Naples, Cataldi trained in Rome, where he rejected the Neapolitan sculptural tradition epitomised by Vincenzo Gemito's compositions in bronze, in favour of a purer classicism, which lent itself better to marble. His later career was occupied with exhibitions and continual commissions for monuments and portrait busts of Roman nobility. Today his legacy is prinicipally left in Rome in sculptures such as Woman with amphora in the Pincio Garden, Victory on the Victor Emanuel Bridge, the memorial to the Guardia della Finanza who died in World War I in Viale XXI Aprile, as well his Portatrice d'Acqua in the Galleria nazionale d'arte moderna, of which another bronze cast was sold in these rooms on 4 December 2013, lot 166.

Cataldi’s style was inspired by the antique: the classical mastery of beauty and idealised form were integral to his working principles. He developed a particular interest in the nude female form and incorporated into his compositions the classical ideals of balance and harmony. The present female nude simultaneously recalls several antique figures in contrapposto, notably the Mercury in the Uffizi, The Marble Faun in the Capitoline Museums, and the Apollo Belvedere in the Vatican. The figure epitomises balletic poise as she places her weight on her proper right leg, whilst swinging the other in front, her right arm outstretched, and her left hand, which holds flowers, drawn up towards the shoulder. This ability to create poise and balance was what distinguished Cataldi as a master of movement and the human form in the first decades of the 20th century, and led Auguste Rodin to laud his art as 'a living expression always combined with rhythmic harmony' (Scarpa, op. cit.).

Where Cataldi innovated most successfully was in his integration of modern and decorative idioms in to the classical tenet. He was increasingly inclined towards stylish forms, where balletic nudes tested the boundaries of balance, and compositions were stronger and more intense than their classical predecessors. Cataldi's ability to imbue his nudes with graceful movement, counterbalanced by a modernist approach to the human body, is seen equally in the only other significant marble by the sculptor to have been offered on the art market in recent decades, his Medusa, which was sold in these rooms on 28 June 2007, lot 178. This figure is likewise presented on a circular base, standing before a tree stump (an implicitly classical device). However, whilst in the Medusa, the sculptor presents a deliberately muscular, almost grotesque, female (given the monstrous subject), the present Nude displays a profound sense of classical grace, with smoother, more idealised, bodily forms. Despite being static, she seems as if she might seemlessly break into an elegant dance.

The present model is the most important sculpture by Cataldi to have been offered on the art market in recent years. Long in a London private collection, the Nude preserves her beautifully polished original surface. Cataldi, like Adolfo Wildt, was a master craftsman in working marble, enabling him to achieve very particular finishes, which are integral to his works. Above all, the present Nude forms a truly exceptional composition, which expresses the elegance of antique statuary whilst evoking the contemporary styles of Italian early 20th-century modernist sculpture.

RELATED LITERATURE
P. Scarpa, Mostra postuma dello scultore Amleto Cataldi, exh. cat. Galleria della associazione artistica, Rome, 1951; F. Cifarelli, 'CATALDI, Amleto', Dizionario Bibliografico degli Italiani, vol. 22, 1979, http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/amleto-cataldi_(Dizionario_Biografico)/ accessed on 3 April 2016