Pietro Ceccarelli, Bust of Newborn Baby First Cry, 1890s, Bronze and Marble

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Description

MEASUREMENTS:
Height: 18.5 cm; Width: 21 cm; Depth: 17.5 cm; Weight: 5.279 kg

Item :
A magnificent bronze bust resting … Read more MEASUREMENTS:
Height: 18.5 cm; Width: 21 cm; Depth: 17.5 cm; Weight: 5.279 kg

Item :
A magnificent bronze bust resting on a massive base of Portoro Rosso marble (also known in antiques and trade as Portoro di Francia or Breccia Pontificia). This precious limestone features a deep red or purplish background, punctuated by striking white veins and dark, almost black inclusions, creating a splendid chromatic contrast that was widely used in early 20th-century sculpture. The sculpture depicts the head of a newborn baby captured in the spontaneous moment of crying, a work of extraordinary emotional realism and visual impact. The technique used is lost-wax bronze casting, masterfully cold-finished and enriched with a beautiful dark period patina featuring natural shading and light oxidation deposits that enhance its three-dimensionality. Structurally, the sculpture rests solidly on a block of fine veined red marble, securely anchored by an original pin visible in the unfinished lower section. The decoration and sculptural modeling focus entirely on the dramatic rendering of the face: the most beautiful and important things to appreciate are the artist's extraordinary ability to capture the facial expressions of childhood, evident in the deep creases of the closed eyes, the furrowed brow, and the wide-open mouth that almost seems to convey the child's voice. The production period falls squarely in the 1920s, a period of great vigor for Italian sculpture, and the place of production is Italy, within one of the prestigious art foundries operating between Tuscany and the capital. The work bears the handwritten signature engraved directly into the bronze on the right shoulder before casting, clearly reading "Prof. Pietro Ceccarelli." We attribute the work with absolute certainty to the hand and creativity of the artist Pietro Ceccarelli, both due to its unmistakable modeling style and the presence of this signature, engraved in a clear and scholarly manner. The reasons for this attribution are based on direct comparison with art literature and contemporary catalogs, which confirm that this sculpture, entitled "Primo Vagito," represents one of the artist's most important sculptures on the theme of childhood, expressed here with a quality of workmanship significantly superior to other later or serial versions that feature only applied labels.

Information on the artist and/or manufacturer:
Pietro Ceccarelli, born in Montecatini in 1888 and died in 1946, was an internationally renowned Italian sculptor, capable of blending the great Tuscan sculpture tradition with the modern expressive trends of the early twentieth century. Trained in Florence, he learned the art of modeling material by drawing on both the Renaissance masters and the luminous vibrations of Impressionist sculpture and Medardo Rosso, developing a unique style characterized by vibrant surfaces and a profound psychological exploration of his subjects. His reputation spread beyond Europe, leading him to move to Venezuela, where he became the Republic's official sculptor during the presidency of Juan Vicente Gómez, creating important public monuments and portraits for the country's political and cultural elite. Throughout his career, Ceccarelli participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions in Italy and abroad, garnering significant critical acclaim for his extraordinary technical skill in both marble and bronze. Today, his works are sought after for their ability to combine formal elegance with immense expressive power. This piece has an attribution mark,
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