Vincenzo L. Jerace

VINCENZO L. JERACE (Polistena, Italy, 1862 - Rome 1947).
"Fight between panther and hunter", 1911.
Patinated bronze on marble swivel base with ball bearing.
Signed Vicenzo L. Jerace, with the name Roma and dated 1911 on the side of the base.
Measurements: 19 x 40 x 12 cm; 12 x 40 x 14,5 cm (base).

As on this occasion, the sculptures of fights between panthers and hunters in Art Deco style represent dynamic and tense scenes, where the muscular body of the animal and the stylized figure of the hunter are intertwined in compact and elegant compositions. They are characterized by a strong sense of movement, restrained drama and polished surfaces. The panther, a symbol of strength, exoticism and modernity, was a popular motif in Art Deco, a movement fascinated by the wild, the elegant and the sophisticated.

The sculptor Vincenzo L. Jerace is known especially for his animalistic-themed sculptures and monumental works; he trained in Naples, influenced in part by his older brother, the also sculptor Francesco Jerace, and participated in important Italian exhibitions of his time, developing a style that combined realism and decorative sensibility close to modernism; among his most outstanding works is the Statue of the Redeemer in Nuoro (Sardinia), and he added the initial "L." to his signature after the death of his first wife, Luisa Pompeati, in her honor.