Emilio Zocchi

the reliefs representing Columbus crossing the Atlantic, the mooring at San Salvador, the erection of the first cross in Aguadilla, and Columbus imprisoned on Hispaniola

Academy of Saint Joseph, Boarding School for Young Ladies, Brentwood, New York, until 2009;
private collection, Italy

by repute Santiago de Chile, Exposición internacional de Chile, 1875-1876

Overall the condition of the marble is very good with some minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age, including some small stains at some of the high points and edges, such as the overcoat's edge at the stomach and the tip of the proper left shoe. There is faint veining visible on the surface consistent with material, including to the shins, the upper back and the index finger of the proper left hand. There are a few minor naturally occurring inclusions. There are some slight chips including to the edge of the sole of the proper left shoe. The index finger and little finger of the proper right hand were reattached. The base consists of five sections. Each section can be mounted with a ring for convenient shipping. The top section of the base revolves. The lower Verona marble section has some fillings to some of the corners and lower edge. The central position with the reliefs has two inserts to the top section. The corner of the octagonal top section has been reattached. Otherwise, there is some minor wear and dirt.
"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."

For over a century the present marble inspired school girls in the parlour of the Academy of Saint Joseph in Brentwood, New York, and emerges at auction now for the first time. The youthful Christopher Columbus, gazing out at the seas he would conquer en route to the New World, is likely to have been placed in the Academy as a totem of American freedom and independence. The marble was carved in 1864 by the virtuoso Florentine sculptor Emilio Zocchi and probably exhibited in the Americas for the first time at the International Exhibition of Santiago, Chile in 1875. Zocchi's youthful representations of heroic characters were major attractions at World's Fairs across the globe at that time. Every surface of the present marble is expertly finished with fanciful detail, ranging from the brocaded coat of his Renaissance costume, the ingeniously textured map on which the left hand rests, and the crustacea hidden on Columbus' rocky vantage point.

Between 1492 and 1503 the Genoese sailor Christopher Columbus discovered and colonised a number of Caribbean islands and coastal regions in South- and Central America in the name of his backer, the King of Spain, whilst searching for a trade route to China. The conviction with which the seafarer faced his trials and tribulations, and the notion that he disproved his critics and was the first to set foot in the New World, made him a national hero in Italy, Spain and across the Americas. His cult gained momentum during political upheavals such as the strife for the American independence in the second half of the 18th century and the Unification of Italy one hundred years later. Poetic and mainly fictional histories of Columbus's endeavours, such as Washington Irving's influential A history of the life and voyages of Christopher Columbus (1828), were aimed at instilling patriotism in its readers. Thus Columbus was firmly placed in the pantheon of founding fathers. Soon places were named after the Italian sailor and from the middle of the 19th century onwards commemorative statues went up around the world.

Prominent statues which immortalised Columbus include Randolph Rogers' doors for the Capitol in Washington, Gaetano Russo's monument on Columbus Circle in New York City, and the tall column on La Rambla in Barcelona by Rafael Atché. In 1870 Giulio Monteverde conceived a youthful Columbus seated on a bollard of which marble versions are kept in the Castello d'Albertis in Genoa and in the Museum of Fine Art in Boston (inv. no. 71.8). Zocchi's representation is most romantic and intense. The subject is treated with the highest reverence, both in its pose and finish. Zocchi consistently delighted his patrons with instantly recognisable young heroes. In 1862 he conceived a Young Michelangelo sculpting a grotesque mask of which several versions exist and in 1873 he presented a Young Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia to great critical acclaim.

RELATED LITERATURE
A. Panzetta, Nuovo dizionario degli sculturi italiani dell'Ottocento e del primo Novecento, Turin, 2003, vol. 2, pp. 586 and 993; J. Rose, The Columbus Doors: Mythmaking in the U.S. Capitol, http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/COLUMBUS/col3.html, 1996, last accessed 28 March 2014