Ferdinando Vichi

Ferdinando Vichi was a prolific and respected sculptor in Florence in the last part of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. An alabaster workshop was associated with his name in the late 19th century, and he was connected with artists such as Cesare Lapini and Guglielmo Pugi, established sculptors of the Galleria Bazzanti workshops.

Although Vichi also worked on subjects after the Antique and Renaissance-inspired models, it was Romantic sculpture he truly excelled at. As his reputation grew, he received not only local commissions, such as a memorial for the fallen of World War I in his native Florence, but also for a more international clientele, who seemed to prefer his Romantic style. Vichi's reputation was enhanced by regular exhibitions. In 1898 he took part in the competition for the monument to Rossini in Santa Croce. Notable exhibits include Ragazzo (1909), Appuntamento (1919), and Danza (1931).

The present bust is a testament to virtuoso alabaster carving in Italy. A very similar bust of a young woman wearing a bonnet with equally intricately rendered lace surrounding the face was sold in these rooms on the 20^th of November 1997 as lot 58.

RELATED LITERATURE

A. Panzetta, Nuovo Dizionario degli Scultori Italiani dell'Ottocento e del Primo Novecento, Turin, 2003, vol. II, p. 953, figs. 1933-35