ERNESTO BAZZARO
Italian, 1859-1937

"Flight From Egypt" (1892)

Lost-wax cast patinated bronze, signed on base "BAZZARO"

21" H x 18" W x 6 5/8" D

A fine modernist lost-wax bronze cast of Bazzaro's "Flight into Egypt", also known as "In the Caravan", modeled in 1892 and cast into the early years of the twentieth-century. It captures a young woman nursing her infant, alluding to Mary and Joseph's flight from Herod to protect the infant Christ from capture and death at his hands. The figures, trappings and camel are all treated with a loose surface, irregularly modeled with a frenetic energy that leaves the viewer feeling like the work is being immediately modeled before them. It was cast in a single pour using the lost-wax method of antiquity, a method mastered by the Italians and coveted for its unmatched fidelity - unlike the sand-cast method used almost ubiquitously by foundries in France, England and the United States during the late 19th century, the lost-wax method allowed artist intervention and a remodeling of works. As a result, the few casts that have been offered publicly over the years each exhibit unique surface treatments, handling of the fringes, placement of the harness and minor changes to the figures. 

Ernesto Bazzaro was born in Milan in 1859 and studied at the Accademia di Brera, where his training included work under Ambrogio Borghi and the influence of Giuseppe Grandi. Closely associated with the Milanese Scapigliatura movement, Bazzaro developed a style marked by broken surfaces and atmospheric modeling rather than highly finished academic detail. A bronze example of In the Caravan is preserved in the permanent collection of Galleria d'Arte Moderna Ricci Oddi in Piacenza.

Provenance: The Gilgore Collection, Naples, Florida

Condition: Fine original condition, trace grime and verdigris; ready to place.

Literature:
Dizionario degli scultori italiani dell'Ottocento, Allemandi, 1989
Les Orientalistes, Richemond, Les Éditions de l’Amateur, p. 41

ref. 601PDM23Q