On Friday, I purchased this original plaster bust, the original used to cast 3 examples at the direct commission of Il Duce. The artist, from whose grand-daughter I purchased the bust and base, lived and worked for Mussolini in the mid 1930s. I will post more images of the original photos of the artist, letters about the bust, newspaper clippings, etc.
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The man in the picture is the artist. The bust was cut from the base in order to cast the bronze pieces, and I have that piece in the photo (pictured sitting in my living room!). -
Here is the only surviving original, cast from my plaster.
Photo taken from this website:
http://www.granger.com/results.asp?i...reenwidth=1351Comment
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Hi Craig,
very rare bust!!! thanks for sharing, another today make part of the italian
embassy in Washington DC (it's incerdible!). The artist was awarded by
the American Institute of Architects for three panels above the entrance
of the Stock Exchange building of Los Angeles also for the same building
he carved a marble relief by asking the Assembly Hall on entry and again
another marble relief for the entrance of the Los Angeles County-USC Medical
Center and the Palace of Justice. In photo the artist (note the same bust on retro)
cheers
RaffaelloLast edited by Raffaello Carola; 09-14-2011, 09:30 AM."six italians, dressed in rather unusual diving suits and equipped with materials of laughably little cost have swung the military balance of power in the Mediterranean in favour of the Axis".Comment
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Is the statue still in the Italian embassy? It should interest you to know that I own the exact same marble base you see in the photo you just posted - where did you get the photo? It was taken in his studio.Comment
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exactly you have the prototype! from which the casts were then
made for the other bust . Yes today another bust in the italian embassy
in Washington DC.
cheers
RaffaelloLast edited by Raffaello Carola; 09-14-2011, 09:17 AM."six italians, dressed in rather unusual diving suits and equipped with materials of laughably little cost have swung the military balance of power in the Mediterranean in favour of the Axis".Comment
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I would like to call the Embassy to find out more about their statue. It was actually put there, before the war started. Mussolini apparently ordered two of them (maybe a third, but my research is not yet clear). One went to his office in Rome, the other to the Italian embassy in the US. I'm surprised it's still there!Comment
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That is a very rare item.
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One of a kind, for sure. There were a couple of bronzes made from this plaster, but this is as close to "the original" as you will get (the original was of course clay, but was destroyed when the plaster was made by the artist). Of interest, this plaster has score lines from where the molds used to make the bronze, were cut off after they hardened. The family gave me the right to reproduce these, so maybe I will do a small number of them (clearly marked so they do not get sold as originals). The cost to make them is about $2000 per head. I wonder if there would be any interest? I would only do a limited run.Comment
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You never know what people want to buy, all depends how much you want to put in to it. After all it is an "copy", so you cant price it to high.Comment
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[QUOTE=Craig Gottlieb;4853774]On Friday, I purchased this original plaster bust, the original used to cast 3 examples at the direct commission of Il Duce. The artist, from whose grand-daughter I purchased the bust and base, lived and worked for Mussolini in the mid 1930s. I will post more images of the original photos of the artist, letters about the bust, newspaper clippings, etc. The artist was Salvatore Cartaino Scarpitta.[/
FANTASTIC:
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Yeah, the copy would basically be collector artwork.Comment
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