Pair of maenads. Italy, late 18th-early 19th century

Pair of maenads. Italy, late 18th-early 19th century.
Carrara marble.
Measurements: 193 cm (height).

Pair of monumental sculptures of full neoclassical taste, carved in Carrara marble with a formal refinement and restrained elegance characteristic of the period. The figures, of stylized proportions and serene demeanor, are wrapped in a mantle of soft folds that emphasize the verticality and the ideal of classical beauty. It is probably a maenad, identifiable by the thyrsus and floral elements. The treatment of the face, with a self-absorbed and distant expression, refers to the models of ancient statuary and allegorical Greek hermes reinterpreted by the Italian sculpture of the transition between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The inclusion of vegetal and symbolic elements in the lower zone and in the attribute they hold suggests an allegorical reading - linked to nature, abundance or virtue - frequent in sculpture destined for gardens, villas or palatial interiors. The quality of the carvings, the compositional balance and the use of a noble material place the works within a refined sculptural production, typical of Italian workshops trained in the academic tradition and in the study of classical antiquity.