FERDINANDO VICHI | STANDING NYMPH

Ferdinando Vichi was a prolific and respected sculptor in Florence in the last part of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. An alabaster workshop was associated with his name in the late 19th century, and he was connected with artists such as Cesare Lapini and Guglielmo Pugi, established sculptors of the Galleria Bazzanti workshops. Although Vichi also worked on subjects after the Antique and Renaissance-inspired models, it was Romantic sculpture he truly excelled at. As his reputation grew, he received not only local commissions, such as a memorial for the fallen of World War I in his native Florence, but also for a more international clientele, who seemed to prefer his Romantic style. This elegant model is illustrative of the artist's imaginative idealisation of the female form. It demonstrates a high technical virtuosity, particularly in Vichi's mastery in the modelling of flesh, the serene facial expression, and the thin, seemingly translucent drape partially covering the Nymph's lower body. The gentle S-curve of the composition adds to the sense of elegance and serenity exuded by the figure. 

RELATED LITERATURE

A. Panzetta, Nuovo Dizionario degli Scultori Italiani dell'Ottocento e del Primo Novecento, Turin, 2003, vol. II, p. 953, figs. 1933-35