Luca Madrassi

LUCA MADRASSI (Tricésimo, Italy, 1848 - 1919).
Large vase "Iris", ca. 1890.
Pewter plated and gilded in fine gold.
Signed on the right side.
Bibliography: Philippe DAHHAN, Étains 1900, 200 Sculpteurs de la Belle Époque, Les Éditions de l'époque.
Époque, Les Éditions de l'Amateur, Paris, 2000. Reproduced p. 257, fig. 758.
Some holes on the back of the base.
Weight: 16.800 g.
Measurements: 54 x 46 x 30 cm.

Art Nouveau vase in the form of a baluster, faithful representative of this artistic style, executed in silvered pewter with a refined patina of fine gold. The piece stands out for its meticulous relief ornamentation, which presents a lyrical scene composed of a putto and two nymphs; one of them delicately holds an iris stem, an iconic symbol of the modernist floral language.

Luca Madrassi was a prominent Italian-French sculptor whose training began in Rome and culminated at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris under the tutelage of Pierre-Jules Cavelier. His style, imbued with a playful and romantic character, was deeply influenced by his time in the workshops of masters of the stature of Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse and Antoine Bourdelle. A specialist in allegorical busts and statuettes, Madrassi was a regular exhibitor at the Salon de la Société des Artistes Français from 1879, where he garnered multiple honorable mentions and a third-class medal in 1896. After obtaining French nationality in 1890, he established himself as a key figure in French artistic institutions at the turn of the century.