SCIPIONE TADOLINI (1822-1893)ITALIAN, ROME, CIRCA 1866 | Odalisque

With weathering, some surface abrasions, very minor chipping does occur on some edges of drapery. There are naturally occurring inclusions in the marble and a few hairline cracks. It appears that some natural inclusions and veins have been partially concealed. Tip of head of snake (nose) probably repaired. The piece has been cleaned. Beautifully carved.
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The present marble is a rare variant of Scipione Tadolini's well-known figure of a kneeling Odalisque. The closest examples of this particular model, with her right hand reaching across her chest, is a figure entitled Odalisca dopo il bagno, circa 1860 (Hufschmidt, op.cit., illus. s4) and an identical marble, dated 1866, (entitled Georgian Surprised after the bath) in the collection of the art gallery at Drexel University, Pennsylvania, acc. no. 396. The Drexel marble, like the present marble, incorporates an elegant arch of drapery billowing off her back. Four generations of stone carvers from the Tadolini family lived and worked in the same Roman studio. A major figure in the history of 19th Century Italian marble sculpture, Scipione was the son of the sculptor Adamo Tadolini (1788-1868), the brother of the sculptor Tito Tadolini (1828-1910), the father of Gulio (1849-1918) and grandfather of Enrico Tadolini (1888-1967).

Adamo Tadolini was an assistant in Canova's studio and was responsible for producing the working models for many of the master’s most important works. Canova considered Adamo his most able assistant and purchased a studio in the via del Babuino in 1818 for the two sculptors to pursue their collaboration.

Scipione studied under his father in the studio of Antonio Canova and was barely in his twenties in 1846 when he produced a statue which established his fame, Ninfa Pescatrice. This sensuous and elegant nude set the pattern for much of his future work, combining a classical subject matter with the Romantic execution, the popular taste of the period. Scipione was overwhelmed with commissions, Pope Pius IX and the queen of Italy were among the many notables who visited his studio. 

RELATED LITERATURE
Tamara Felicitas Hufschmidt, Tadolini : Adamo, Scipione, Giulio, Enrico : quattro generazioni di scultori a Roma nei secoli XIX e XX, Rome, 1996, s4, p. 203