The sculpture of the day that I propose today is the Nymph by Giovan Battista Lombardi.

It was Camilla Facchi Fè d’Ostiani who commissioned the Nymph from the Brescian sculptor Lombardi in 1858 to place it between the golden walls of the baths of Palazzo Facchi in Brescia.

Lombardi’s sculpture immediately received excellent feedback from the public and critics.

The young nymph has a face characterized by idealized features. The sculptor stops his pose in time as he is entering a watercourse with his feet. Without clothes, she holds a draped fabric with her hands that she will soon let slide down her side.

Direct contact with the cold water that she touches with the tip of her foot seems to make her desist from immersing herself completely.

Her head is decorated with a pearl diadem culminating in a shell that identifies her mythological status.

The presence of pearls and shells refer directly to Greek mythology. In fact, the pearls were generated from the foam of the sea that had generated the goddess of love, Venus. Even the shell is a clear reference to Venus who lands on shore standing right on top of a large shell.

Lombardi’s skill can be seen in making the waters that flow over the tip of the Nymph’s foot transparent, in the softness of the flesh, in the collected hairstyle and in the drapery of the dress that is about to fall from her hands. An elegant, refined work that conquers for its naturalness.

The sculptor Lombardi was born in Rezzato, in the province of Brescia. He began studying at the School of Ornamentation and Architecture in his hometown and then moved to Milan in 1845 to attend the Brera Academy of Fine Arts and the studio of Lorenzo Vela, brother of the more famous sculptor Vincenzo Vela.

In 1850 he moved to Rome where he had the opportunity to study at the Academy with Pietro Tenerani, one of Thorvaldsen’s greatest followers.

For the moment, your Michelangelo Buonarroti greets you by giving you an appointment for the next posts and on social media.

Sculpture of the day: the Nymph by Giovan Battista Lombardi

The sculpture of the day that I propose to you today is the Nymph by Giovan Battista Lombardi.

It was Camilla Facchi Fè d’Ostiani who commissioned the Ninfa in 1858 from the Brescian sculptor Lombardi to place it between the gilded walls of the thermal baths of Palazzo Facchi in Brescia.

Lombardi’s sculpture immediately met with excellent success from the public and critics.

The young nymph has a face characterized by idealized features. The sculptor stops his pose in time as he is stepping into a stream with his feet. Without clothes, she holds in her hands a draped fabric which she will soon let slide along her side.

The direct contact with the cold water that touches her toe looks like her face desist from immersing herself completely.

Her head is decorated with a pearl diadem culminating with a shell which identifies her mythological status.

The presence of the pearls and the shell refer directly to the thought of Greek mythology. In fact, pearls were generated from the foam of the sea that had generated the goddess of love, Venus. Even the shell is a clear reference to Venus who lands on the shore standing right on top of a large shell.

Lombardi’s skill can be seen in making the waters that flow over the tip of the Nymph’s foot transparent, in the softness of the flesh, in the collected hairstyle and in the drape of the dress that is about to fall from her hands. An elegant, refined work that conquers for its naturalness.

The sculptor Lombardi was born in Rezzato, in the province of Brescia. He began studying at the School of Ornate and Architecture in his hometown and then moved to Milan in 1845 to attend the Brera Academy of Fine Arts and the studio of Lorenzo Vela, brother of the more famous sculptor Vincenzo Vela.

In 1850 he moved to Rome where he was able to study at the Academy with Pietro Tenerani, one of Thorvaldsen’s greatest followers.

For the moment, your Michelangelo Buonarroti greets you by making an appointment for the next posts and on social media.