Carlo Pittaluga

CARLO PITTALUGA (Italy, active in the 19th and 20th centuries)
“Cupid and the Lion.”
Art Deco period, first third of the 20th century.
White Carrara marble.
Measurements: 70.5 x 46.5 x 31 cm.

With a striking sculptural presence and meticulous craftsmanship in Carrara marble, “Cupid and the Lion” presents an elegant allegory of the triumph of love over strength, a theme with deep classical roots. Pittaluga contrasts Cupid’s youthful delicacy with the powerful anatomy of the lion, subdued not by violence but by the serene authority of the god of love.
The sculptor skillfully exploits the possibilities of marble: the smooth, luminous surfaces of the child’s body are hallmarks of contrast with the deeper, more vibrant carving of the lion’s mane and musculature. This richness of textures, combined with the balance of the composition and its careful rendering from different viewpoints, demonstrates Pittaluga’s technical mastery and lends the work a distinct decorative quality.

Carlo Pittaluga was an Italian sculptor active in the early 20th century, trained in the solid tradition of Italian marble sculpture. His work is characterized by a mastery of anatomy, delicate modeling, and a refined treatment of surfaces—qualities particularly evident in his allegorical figures and classically inspired compositions. Pittaluga knew how to adapt this traditional repertoire to the cosmopolitan tastes of the early decades of the 20th century, creating works of great elegance and a distinctly decorative character.
His work also gained international recognition: two of his large marble sculptures, *Nymph of the Fields* and *Nymph of the Woods*, dated 1915 and exhibited at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, are now part of the collections of the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

Bibliography:
A. Panzetta, *Nuovo Dizionario degli Scultori Italiani dell’Ottocento e del primo Novecento*, 3rd ed., vol. II, Umberto Allemandi & C., 2003, p. 697.