Robert Allison

Spring Fun

2019

Edition #30/75 - Original bronze sculpture by Gerald Balciar. Signed on bronze sculpture.

Etched signature by the Artist on the bronze base of the piece with an edition number. 4/50

This highly evocative bronze by Vincenzo Vela captures the deposed Emperor Napoléon on his deathbed, holding a map of Europe and lost in thought about what might have been. Remarkable among most portrayals of the exiled leader, this highly detailed sculpture depicts Napoléon at his most vulnerable. Nonetheless, Vela perfectly captures his still-heroic bearing, which imparts to this work a monumental quality and quiet dignity. The mate to this figure is the colossal marble at the Musée du Château de Malmaison, which was shown at the Paris Salon of 1867. The founder of the verismo movement in Italy, Vela was one of the great exponents of realism in sculpture. Born in Ligornetto, Switzerland in 1820, he studied under celebrated sculptor, Benedetto Cacciatori. He was also influenced both by the work of Tuscan sculptor Lorenzo Bartolini, who seamlessly combined neoclassicism with naturalism and the romantic painting of Francesco Hayez...

Antique Bronze Portrait of a Draft Horse Isidore Jules Bonheur (France, 1827-1901) Circa 1840s Cast bronze mounted on a rectangular plinth atop a marble s...