VINCENZO GEMITO Naples, 1852 - 1929 Queen's fisherman Silver sculpture, h. 25 cm Signed Gemito 1919 and stamp of Fonderia Gemito Napoli on the side. Provenance: Turin, private collection He was a sculptor, draughtsman and goldsmith, largely self-taught and in opposition to the canons dictated by the Academy. He drew his inspiration from the scenes of popular life and the figures that animate the alleyways of the historic centre of Naples and from the sculptures in the Archaeological Museum. His prolific artistic activity, which brought him to the pinnacle of success at the Salons in Paris in 1876-77, was interrupted by an intellectual crisis that kept him away from public life until 1909. Gemito distinguished himself as the author of a living sculpture, embellished by free variations of planes and vivid luminous vibrations. The artist's favourite subjects in his plastic production were, from the very beginning, the 'scugnizzi', the so-called Neapolitan street urchins characterised by an accentuated physical freshness, a sensual and sentimental warmth and sometimes animated by a bursting energy. The work is authenticated by Giuseppina Gemito's daughter.