Affortunato Gori

white marble, with a green marble column

signed: A. Gori Firenze



figure height 38½in.; 98cm.



column height 38¼in.; 97cm.



See catalogue note at SOTHEBYS.COM

Affortunato Gori’s marble carving of the nymph Echo is a beautiful example of the artist’s love of sculpting the female form. The whimsical pose and mythological subject matter were prevalent features in 19^th century figurative sculpture. The soft feminine curves and the fabric clinging to the nymph’s figure are exquisitely carved. As the myth is told, Echo had her voice taken from her by Zeus’s jealous wife Hera, and as a punishment she was only able to repeat the words of others. This resulted in her greatest desire, the handsome Narcissus, rejecting her. Heartbroken from a love she never knew, the beautiful Echo is said to roam and forever haunt the earth with her reverberating voice, a tale wonderfully captured in this elegant sculpture.