Ulisse Cambi

ULISSE CAMBI (Florence, 1807-1895).
"Fiammetta", 1858.
Sculpture in chiseled marble.
Signed and dated.
Presents restoration on the left side (hair).
Measurements: 68 x 50 x 29 cm.

The sculpture in tender represents Fiammetta, young protagonist of the psychological novel written by Giovanni Boccaccio, probably between 1343 and 1344, entitled "The Elegy of Madonna Fiammetta". The novel takes the form of a long letter in which the protagonist recounts her youthful love for Panfilo in Naples. Thus, in the marble that concerns us we see a young woman with tender and melancholic features that brings a book to her chest. The long bust and the braided hairdo alludes to Renaissance portraits such as those by Desiderio da Settignano.

Ulisse Cambi, son of the sculptor Pietro Cambi, was born in Florence. There, he completed his studies at the local Liceo Artistico and later at the Academy of Fine Arts. His training as a sculptor continued in Rome, where he lived for four years. Beginning in the 1840s, Cambi produced several significant works, including the statue of Benvenuto Cellini for the courtyard on the first floor of the Uffizi; the monument to Carlo Goldoni, located in front of the Ponte alla Carraia in the Florentine district of Santa Maria Novella; and the monumental fountain in Piazza Duomo in Prato. His funerary monuments, such as the one dedicated to the painter Giuseppe Sabatelli in the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, enjoyed special recognition.