Vincenzo Gemito

Abandoned and left to an orphanage in his native Naples at only a day old, Vincenzo Gemito grew up as the adopted son of house-painter Francesco Jadiciccio. Francesco, who was affectionately known as Masto Ciccio, would go on to serve as the model for one of Gemito’s best known works: The Philosopher.

Modelled in 1883, this bust is both an intensely personal portrait of Gemito’s adopted father and a nod to the sculptures of antiquity, which often used a rich and textured beard to signify the subject’s status as a philosopher.

Gemito returned to the motif of the philosopher throughout his career, creating variations of the 1883 bust and further exploring the subject through numerous drawings.