Lot Details
Description
GIOVANNI BATTISTA LOMBARDI
DATED 1872
ITALIAN
1823-1900
SUSANNAH
signed and dated on the back of the rockwork base: GB. Lombardi F./ Roma 1872
marble
height with secondary base with handles: 54¼ in.; 137.7 cm; circular veined white marble base: 5½ in.; 14 cm
Condition Report
Naturally occurring inclusions in marble. Some standard surface abrasions, minor chipping, and small losses around edges of base and reverse. The base appears to have been made in several different parts. Some scuff marks particularly around the back. Beautifully carved. Overall good surface and good condition.
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.
Cataloguing
Provenance
Purchased in the 1970s;
by descent to the present owner
Catalogue Note
After studying in his hometown of Rezzato and in Milan, Giovanni Battista Lombardi (1823-1880) traveled to Rome where he studied at the Accademia under Pietro Tenerani, one of Thorvaldsen's leading students. Lombardi soon established a productive studio of his own, which he shared with his younger brother, but Giovanni was the more inventive of the pair. He produced busts, funerary and commemorative sculpture, as well as large subject pieces, both religious and secular. For many of his quasi-religious themes he favored individual female subjects such as Deborah, Rebecca, and as in the present marble, Susannah.
Lombardi's style is one of Romantic realism and he had a penchant for orientalist themes. His talent is manifest in his naturalistic marble carving, particularly in the detailed costume and attributes of his subjects. Lombardi's most prestigious commission was the monument to the Martiri del 1849 for Vittorio Emanuele II in 1862 (Brescia).
RELATED LITERATURE
Alfonso Panzetta, Nuovo dizionario degli scultori italiani, Turin, 2003, vol. I, p. 520