Attributed to Alessandro Vittoria, XVI-XVII century.

Attributed to ALESSANDRO VITTORIA (Trento,1525 - Venice, 1608).
"Mourning Virgin".
Bronze.
Measurements: 24 x 8 x 6 cm.
In this devotional sculpture realized in bronze to the wax loss the author creates a stylized and elegant figure that represents the Virgin. Her slightly bent posture and her hands crossed on her chest show us that this is the iconography of the suffering Virgin, which normally accompanied a sculptural group of larger dimensions such as a Calvary. The work stands out for the quality of its author, which is evident in the subtle play of the folds of the control, reminiscent of the classic resource of wet cloths, used to create a greater volume and definition of the anatomy.
An Italian Mannerist sculptor of the Venetian school, Alessando Vittoria is now considered one of the leading representatives of the Venetian classical style, rivaling Giambologna as the leading sculptors of the late sixteenth century in Italy, producing works such as Anunciation (Art Institute of Chicago). Vittoria was born Alessandro Vittoria di Vigilio della Volpa in Trento, in what is now northern Italy. Vittoria trained in the workshop of the architect-sculptor Jacopo Sansovino; he was a contemporary of Titian whose influence can be detected in his compositions. He was a virtuoso of terracotta, often presented with gilded surfaces, marble and bronze. Like all Italian sculptors of his generation, Vittoria was also influenced by Michelangelo and the Florentine mannerist Bartolomeo Ammanati. The closeness of his associations in projects by the architects Sansovino, Sanmicheli and Palladio, working with the painters Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese, placed him squarely among the protagonists of the art world in late 16th century Venice. Vittoria first trained in his hometown of Trento, then moved to Venice in 1543, where he trained and worked with Jacopo Sansovino. Her long artistic relationship with Sansovino was stormy. He then moved from Venice and worked in Vicenza, where he collaborated with Veronese on the decorations of Villa Barbaro in Maser (1560-1562) before returning. The two masters worked together on large sculptural commissions until Sansovino's death. Vittoria took over his studio and completed Sansovino's unfinished commissions.