Lot 94: Cesare Lapini Italian, 1848-after 1893 , Sorpresa

signed & dated: C. Lapini Firenze / 1887 and entitled: SORPRESA white marble, on verde antico column (2)

measurements note marble: 127.5cm., 50¼in. column: 84.5cm., 33¼in.

Cesare Lapini was a sculptor of allegorical and genre subjects and models after the antique which he sold with great success from his Florence shop. He contributed six sculptures to the Esposione Generale Italiana di Torino in 1884, including his Sorpresa. The model of a girl with an open chemise, stepping back from the approaching waves, was extremely popular and was carved in various sizes of which the present marble is a particularly large and fine example.

RELATED LITERATURE
Panzetta (2003), p. 513; Vicario, vol II, p. 599