Antonio Rescaldani

ANTONIO RESCALDANI (Milan, 1863 - ?)
"Ode to music", 1907
Patinated bronze.
Marble base.
Signed and dated on the right side: "A. Rescaldani 1907".
With Foundry stamp on the back right side: "Fonderia Artistica Battaglia".
Measurements: 67 cm (sculpture height); 3 x 30 x 30 cm (base).

"Ode to Music" is a refined sculptural group composed of two female figures wrapped in wide draperies that are integrated in an ascending and undulating movement. They create a dynamic composition that plastically translates the idea of musicality.

The modeling reveals a solid academic base, visible in the proportion and anatomical definition, combined with a modern sensibility in the fluid treatment of the drapery and in the almost atmospheric conception of the whole. The work is part of the symbolist and decorative climate of the early twentieth century, where the female allegory becomes a vehicle for poetic expression.

The casting by the prestigious Fonderia Artistica Battaglia of Milan underlines the technical quality of the piece, appreciable in the richness of the patina and the subtlety of the formal transitions.

Antonio Rescaldani was born in Milan in 1863 and trained at the Accademia di Brera, where he later established his studio. Sculptor and medalist, he participated in the Biennale di Venezia and developed an outstanding activity in Milan, especially in the field of funerary sculpture for the Cimitero Monumentale. His production is situated between late academicism and the symbolist and modernist currents of the early twentieth century.