Vittorio Caradossi

signed Prof. V. Caradossi. 

Overall in very good condition. The marble surface with traces of dirt consistent with handling that can easily be cleaned. Restoration to small finger on right hand. Traces of dirt and minor scratches. Pedestal with minor chips to edges and scratches to the revolving top. 5 oxidation stains around the gilt-bronze base of pedestal. Some tarnishing to gilt-bronze.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Vittorio Caradossi was born in Florence and studied sculpture under Augusto Rivalta at the Accademia di Belle Arti. His genre epitomizes fin-de-siècle Tuscan sculpture. Technically superb, most of his oeuvre is dominated by highly-decorative groups and single nude figures in various symbolic or allegorical guises. In works such as Tre Nereidi (Three Mermaids), Il Fumo che sale verso le Nubi (Smoke Sweeping up to the Clouds), and Shooting Stars, Caradossi was clearly catering to a strong demand from an international clientele for elaborate and sensual compositions. Caradossi is also responsible, however, for some more sober and conventional public monuments, the most famous being the monument to the sculptor Desiderio da Settignano erected in the Renaissance artist's hometown in 1904, and the memorial to Giuseppe Dolfi on the risorgimento hero's house in the Borgo San Lorenzo.

The present charming seated nude may be related to Caradossi's famous nude reclining in abandon entitled, La Dolce farniente. The latter is indebted to French sculpture and most notably Clésinger's Woman Bitten by a Snake. To this genre Caradossi has added in the present marble a characteristically Italian love of polychrome sculpture in the combination of the colored onyx and white marble.