Lodovico Baratta

This elegantly reclining Bacchante, a female follower of the Graeco-Roman God of Wine, copies a model by the celebrated sculptor Luigi Bienaimé. Bienaimé received his training under the leading neoclassical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen in Rome and subsequently enjoyed a substantial career, receiving commissions from patrons as illustrious as Napoleon and the Russian Court. Versions of his Reclining Bacchante are housed in the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, and the Latvian National Museum of Art.

The site of Italy's most famous marble quarry, Carrara was a fertile training ground for sculptors in the 19th century, who produced copies of models by successful sculptors for the international market. It is possible that Lodovica Baratta, who signed the present marble, was related to the Carrarese sculptor Lorenzo Baratta (1782-1850), who is mentioned in A. Panzetta, Nuovo Dizionario degli Scultori Italiani dell'Ottocento e del Primo Novecento, Turin, 2003, p. 70.