Scipione Moretti

by descent from the artist

Modena, Modenantiquaria and Rome, Galleria Berardi, Quadri di un'Esposizione: Opere dalle mostre pubbliche Italiane tra Ottocento e Novecento, 2014

Overall the condition of the bronze is very good with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. The bronze is cast in sections, and joints where the horse's hooves touch the base are visible. There are some white dirt residues, in particular to the sides of the horse and to the man's proper left side. There are some slight dark dirt marks. There is some rubbing to the edges of the base, in particular at the front and the right side. There are some casting flaws to the edge of the bronze underneath the signature. The wood base is in good condition with some scratches along the edges. There is minor stable splitting to the wood consistent with the material. There is a large scratch to the top of the base at the back. There is some dark staining to the top of the lower section of the base at the back.
"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 son of an architect, Scipione Moretti began his training in 1843 as an assistant in the studios of Pietro Tenerani and Randolph Rogers, two of the most distinguished neoclassical sculptors active in Rome. In 1864 Moretti moved on to the workshop of Giuseppe Obici, with whom he collaborated in the execution of the statues for the Column of the Immaculate Conception near the Spanish steps. In 1883, the same year that he participated in a contest for the monument to Raphael in Urbino, Moretti exhibited Il cacciatore africano at the International Exhibition in Rome to critical acclaim. The sculptor subsequently left Rome to work in San Sebastian, Spain, returning to Italy in 1890.

Moretti’s oeuvre includes religious works and monuments in both bronze and marble; however Il cacciatore africano remains his best-known work. In style and subject matter, this impressive and unusually large-scale bronze is far removed from Moretti’s neoclassical training. Instead, the romanticised realism of the scene relates closely to French ethnographic genre sculpture. Accompanied by his faithful dog on one side, and threatened by a rampant lion on the other, Moretti’s African hunter is poised to shoot at a beast in the distance, his face bearing an intense look of concentration. Although it is documented and illustrated in Panzetta’s Dictionary (p. 644, fig. 1264), the model has not recently appeared on the market, and the present bronze may be the only known cast.

RELATED LITERATURE
A. Panzetta, Nuovo dizionario degli scultori italiani, Turin, 2003, p. 590