Vincenzo Gemito

Overall the condition of the bronze is very good. There is some minor wear consistent with age. There are some small nicks to the surface particularly where the hair terminates on the left side, the lock of hair that runs backwards from Alexander's temple and to the tips of the lightning. There is a small fracture to the tip of the left horn of the snake and there are some signs of fissure and erpairs to the lightning at the front. There is a slight dent to the top left corner.
"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."

The two great influences on Vincenzo Gemito's art were the street life of Naples and the city's great ancient heritage, particularly the treasures within its Museo Archeologico Nazionale. Gemito's dramatic entry into the world began on the steps of a foundling hospital. From an early age he lived the life of the street urchins he was later to portray with so much vitality. Within the chaotic, bustling life of Naples in the late 19^th century Gemito drew on his natural talents to rise out of the gutter and at the age of nine found work in the studio of the painter Emanuele Caggiano. With a precocious talent he seems to have been little influenced by his master, taking his inspiration directly from the raw life of the city around him and from his beloved antique prototypes. At the age of 16 Gemito showed work at the prestigious Promotrice di Napoli and it was purchased for the city. Although Gemito journeyed to Paris, exhibiting his Neapolitan Fisherboy at the Salon of 1878, it is hard to detect the influence of French masters. Equally his own influence was limited to Naples as his lifestyle was secluded and solitary. He remained a highly original artist throughout his career.

This medal of Alexander the Great belongs to Gemito's later period. Following his meteoric early rise and troubled by depression, Gemito had a mental collapse in the late 1880s. He was committed to an institution in 1887, but ran away to live in a single room for a period of twenty years. During these years he lived almost as a recluse and made few sculptures. In 1909-10 he was persuaded to move to house with a sea view. His health improved and he began to model again with the same vigour he had shown in the first part of his career. His fascination for the antique continued and one of the characters he turned to was the conqueror Alexander the Great. As the artist himself recalled in 1928:

'I completed three medals of Alexander having been inspired by fourteen [antique] portraits which I had boldly got to see wanting to check the entirety of his divine image. When I saw Alexander and found that he resembled what I had created I realised that if an artist is ignorant of the past he can never produce a masterpiece.'

The three medals varied in details such as the hair, which in another version is clipped into more layered curls and held back with a band. The strong profile with the forceful twist of the head over the shoulder is repeated in each version. Gemito also created a medallion in high relief of Alexander, as well as sculpting him fully in the round and in an atmospheric mask. Originating in a pencil study of about 1912 all the models date to the late renaissance of his art, after he came out of the darkness of the isolated years. The legend of Alexander the Great seems to have been something of a personal inspiration to Gemito.

The Galleria d'Arte moderna in Rome preserves two versions of the medal in gesso including one which is the same model as the present bronze. Another bronze of the variant model with the band, is encircled with the same framing device of the serpent biting his tail. The device seems to have been adapted from the earlier high relief, a terracotta version of which is also at the Galleria d'arte moderna.

This Fonderia Gemito cast with its finely chased threads and coils of hair and burnished golden patina in the face and hollows and curves of the neck is an exceptional example of the model. It epitomises Gemito's ability to synthesise the antique with his own startling originality.

RELATED LITERATURE
Fusco, unpaginated; Marinis, tav. 242-3 & 246-7; Temi di Vincenzo Gemito, cat. nos. 154-159, pp. 127-128; Vincenzo Gemito, no. 34, p.74