Cesare Scheggi (Lucca

lot/cesare scheggi lucca ARrdHvF 632950737 / For sale

lot/cesare scheggi lucca ARrdHvF 632950737

For salePrice history

lot/cesare scheggi lucca ARrdHvF 632950737

For salePrice history

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Cesare Scheggi (Lucca

EXCLUSIVE BUST OF MARIA de' MEDICI, QUEEN OF FRANCE, (from the Peter Kaus Museum). The author of this miracle is the Italian sculptor CESARE SCHEGGI (Lucca, 1833 – Florence, 1876). A monumental work that makes every other creation pale: here the marble does not appear as cold stone, but as a living material that seems to breathe and speak. The immortal words of Michelangelo come to mind, who knew the secret soul of stone: "No excellent artist has any concept / that a single block of marble does not inflame / with his superhuman force, and only to that comes / the hand that obeys the intellect." • Iconography: Nobility in the details. The dress, the luxurious rigid collar embroidered with lace and the hairstyle with braided pearls faithfully reproduce the famous portraits of Maria de' Medici (1575-1642) made by masters such as Frans Pourbus the Younger and Peter Paul Rubens. Maria was known for having launched throughout Europe the fashion of this sumptuous ruff, worn at the nape of the neck. For a Toscan sculptor of the 19th century like Cesare Scheggi, celebrating the greatness of the Medici dynasty through its most illustrious members was a classic theme, much loved by collectors of the era. • Jewelry detail: The pendant she wears around her neck is a finely worked eight-pointed star. In noble iconography, this jewel is a recognition of the Order of Saint Stephen (knightly order founded by Cosimo I de' Medici). The decoration consists of an eight-pointed (or octagonal) cross, usually red on a white field, identical in form to that of the Knights of Malta but with inverted colors. The eight points of the cross symbolically represent the eight Beatitudes; the insignia of Saint Stephen was typically a male honorific, both military and religious, but in the case of this bust, it was adapted for Queen Maria de' Medici. This masterpiece has been entirely hand-carved from a single, precious block of Carrara White Statutory Marble, an impeccably pure raw material that weighs 80 kg of pure and absolute enthusiasm. • Dimensions: 75 cm Height x 50 cm Width x 27 cm Depth (80 kg) • Condition: EXCELLENT (museum-grade) • The packaging will be prepared directly by the Cenzi ArtGallery on a wooden EpAL platform fully clad in wood, with professional and specific materials inside! The shipment will be fast, traceable, and insured. CENZI ArtGallery certifies with Invoice and Expertise all the artworks you decide to purchase, free of charge upon request."

Estimate:£17,189.6

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