ERCOLE ROSA (ITALIAN, 1846–1893)

Ercole Rosa (1846-1893) achieved remarkable fame during his brief life. Realising his talent at a young age, the artist's parents entered him into the Ospizio di san Michele, an institution devoted to the promotion of art. Taking up sculpture at 21, he adopted what may be described as a rebellious and spontaneous nature to his work, seen in the twisted net in which the putto appears to have suddenly found himself. Another example of the same model sold Property from the Estate of Rochelle Sepenuk, Part II; Sotheby's, New York 29 October 2014, lot 43 ($40,625). Beginning in 1870, the artist exhibited at the Promotrice di Belle Arti in Turin, and his submission to the 1877 Rome exhibit, Suonatore Napoletano, won the silver medal. Today Rosa's perhaps two best-known works are his Monument to the Brothers Cairoli in Rome and the equestrian Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II in the Piazza del Duomo, Milan. Rosa is also recognized for his portrait busts and genre works, such as Bacchante and Diana Cacciatrice. Today many of his sculptures are now conserved in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome.