Vincenzo Vela

 

Ian Wardropper and Fred Licht, Chiseled With a Brush:  Italian Sculpture 1860-1925 from the Gilgore Collections, Chicago, 1994, p.37, for the model

Overall in good condition with the usual minor hairline scratches consistent with age and touching, and wear to patina to high relief consistent with cleaning.
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.

Vela's Last Days of Napoleon was a sensation at the Paris Salon of 1867. There was a great debate as to whether the sculpture was a Realist or Romantic work of art.  Vela was one of the great proponents of Realism in sculpture and the founder of the verismo movement in Italy.  Indeed, The Last Days of Napoleon is a prime example of Vela's ability to marry melodrama with acute attention to detail within his compositions.  He shows Napoleon as a chair bound invalid, tracing the ruins of his former empire across a map of Europe. Nonetheless he has retained the youthful features and heroic bearing which gives this composition monumentality and emotional tangibility.