ANGELO BIENAIMÉ | ZEPHYR

Angelo Bienaimé was the brother of the prominent sculptor Francesco Bienaimé (1844-1871). He was trained by Bertel Thorvaldsen who, along with Antonio Canova, was the most prominent sculptor in Rome in the first decades of the 19^th century. Bienaimé spent much of his career in London from circa 1828 to 1851 and he exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts on a number of occasions. The present sculpture represents Zephyr (or Zephyrus), the ancient Greek personification of the west wind which brings light summer breezes. Bienaimé has ingeniously carved Zephyr so that it looks as if the figure is about to lift off into the air, propelled by his wings and balancing solely on the toes of his left foot, with the other foot fully lifted off the ground. His cheeks are puffed out as he blows off the petals of a flower, an allusion to the soft westerly breezes in the spring and summer.

The present marble is carved in the Neoclassical style which was exemplified by Bienaimé's master, Bertel Thorvaldsen. This is unsurprising since the figure dates to 1830 shortly after the sculptor had arrived in London and when Thorvaldsen's fame was at its height. The arrangement of the hair and the wings recalls various figures by the master and his pupils, such as Pietro Tenerani whose Psyche achieved £275,000 in these rooms last year.