BRONZE SCULPTURE by Alfrédo Pina (1883–1966)

19th-century bronze sculpture — Alfredo Pina (1883–1966), La Pisanella (The Woman of Pisa), a model created circa 1916, most likely inspired by the character from Gabriele d'Annunzio's book published in 1914. Lost-wax cast. Early ante mortem edition. Cubic base in sea-green marble. Signed A. PINA and bearing the foundry cachet MONTAGUTELLI Frères - Cire perdue - Paris on the right side.

H. sculpture alone: 39 cm
With base: 54 cm

About:

Alfredo Pina (1883–1969) was a pupil of Auguste Rodin and an artist and sculptor of Italian origin. He produced busts, notably of Beethoven and Wagner, as well as other figurative and animal sculptures. His celebrated bust of Victor Hugo is held at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. He was born in 1883 in Milan, Italy's second city and workplace of the renowned artist Leonardo da Vinci. He studied at the Brera Academy in Milan.

The Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera was founded in 1776 by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and is housed, along with other cultural institutions, within the Palazzo Brera. In addition to Pina, many prominent figures from the arts and culture studied there, including designer and architect Carlo Bugatti (1856–1940) and Franco-Italian sculptor Medardo Rosso (1858–1928). After winning the Grand Prix national de sculpture at Brera, he opened his own studio in Paris. Between 1909 and 1910, he studied under Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) in Paris. Like other artists of his time, he was deeply impressed by Rodin and his art, which at once bridged past and future and established innovative standards in the field of sculpture.

Influences on his work: Rodin's celebrated works Les Bourgeois de Calais and Le Penseur.