AN ITALIAN MARBLE FIGURE OF REBECCA, ON PEDESTAL

Giovanni Maria Benzoni (d. 1873) was a pupil of Giuseppe Fabris at the Academy of Saint Luc in Rome. Equally renowned for his classical subjects and religious work, Benzoni was a favored sculptor of Pope Pius IX and received commissions from many Russian aristocratic families. He also executed architectural sculptures for the Imperial Theater, St. Petersburg, exhibited at the Great Exhibitions and represented the Vatican at the Antwerp International Exhibition.