Date
1893
Object Type
Statue
Subject
Boy drawing a bow
Holding institution
Accademia di Carrara
About The Work
Work by the sculptor Abramo Ghigli (Carrara 1866 – New York 1912). The artist attended the Accademia di Carrara between 1887 and 1893; during his training he won the gold medal at the Concorso d’Invenzione in 1887, in 1890 the Fabbricotti Prize with the statue “Martir ignotus,” and in 1891 the scholarship in Rome. On an unknown date he moved to the United States, where he died. The subject, treated in a sketch-like spirit, depicts a street urchin wholly intent on his endeavor to aim a slingshot, mistakenly interpreted as a bow. A strong naturalistic charge pervades the entire work, particularly in the face, posed so as to convey in its expression the effort of taking aim and the tension of directing his gaze as far as possible; another naturalistic detail lies in the perfectly symmetrical wrinkling of the skin across the abdomen. As the full value of the work lies in the immediacy of its adherence to reality, reference models include the “Scugnizzi marinari” by Vincenzo Gemito. The following works are preserved in the plaster cast gallery of the Accademia di Carrara: the plaster high relief “la salma di Gesù portata al sepolcro,” 1887; the plaster high relief “Ulisse riconduce Criseide al padre,” 1891; the plaster sculptures in the round “Equilibrio,” 1891; “Fanciullo che toglie la spina dal piede di un altro,” 1893; and “Archimede,” 1893. In the OA record the work is erroneously identified with the title “Fanciullo che tira con l’arco,” whereas it may instead be traced back to the essay of the artistic scholarship of 1893, presented under the title “Sul lago.”
Title
FANCIULLO CHE TIRA CON L'ARCO
Creator
Ghigli Abramo
Subject
Boy drawing a bow
Object Type
Statue
Original Function
Didactic furnishing. Pensionato?
Date
1893
Inscriptions
On the base: Inscription, "Ghigli A./ Roma 1893"
Technique / Support
Chalk
Dimensions
cm 80
Holding institution
Accademia di Carrara
Bibliography
RUSSO S., CAROZZI R. (ed), La gipsoteca dell'Accademia di belle arti di Carrara, Massa, 1996
Conservation status
Good
Restoration history
Restauro ABAC 2010
Unique identifier
0900409850