Hi beagle6750, and thank you for the question.
Antonio Garella was a nineteenth century sculptor who was born in 1864
and lived and worked in Bologna (Bologna is in the center of northern
Italy, between Florence and Milan) and in Florence, Italy.
He also worked on the the Pretorio Palace in Toscana Italy, where he
sculpted the monument to the renowned Prato merchant Francesco Datini
(1896)
(bottom right monument in the photograph)
http://www.prato.turismo.toscana.it/comuni/eng/pretorio.htm
It also seems there is a street named after him in Prato "Via Antonio
Garella"
http://www.consulentidellavoro.it/ordine/cons-pro/toscana/prato/iscritti.htm
There is a marble bust of 'Poésie' that was sold at auction for US$
2,484.60(aprox) in April 2000. Unfortunatley it seems that none of
Antonio Garella´s work is currently for sale.
Marble bust of 'Poésie' by Antonio Garella. 30cm high. Marble on a
marble base.
DM 5.000,00
EUR 2.556,00 = US$ 2,484.60 (aprox)
http://www.van-ham.de/auktion/A194/produkt1324.htm
--------------------------------------------------
other examples of Antonio Garella´s work:
"Garella, A n t o n i o, sculptor from Bologna working in Florence.
Created the statue of Franc. Datini for Prato in 1894/96, together
with Aug. Rivalta the monument of Dom. Rosetti for Trieste around
1900, further the horseman statue of Garibaldi for Spezia. In 1912 the
bronze bust of a Roman warrior by G. was exhibited in Florence"
http://www.christian-hansen.de/026.html
"ANTONIO GARELLA (Italian, b. 1864)
An Extraordinary Italian 19th Century Carved Carrara Marble Sculpture
of
“APOLLO & DAPHNE” By Professor Antonio Garella, Raised on a
Verde-Green Alps
Carved Marble Pedestal. Signed: A. Garella"
http://www.jansantiques.com/Lot/jac679.html
Bologna map:
http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/mapmachine/index.html?id=362&size=medium&left=11.13&bottom=44.28&right=11.53&top=44.68&point=11.3333,44.4833&text=Bologna
What beautiful sculptures he made!
Thank you for the question and if you need any clarification regarding
my answer do not hesitate to ask.
Best regards
THX1138
Search strategy:
Garella Poesie
://www.google.com/search?as_q=Garella+Poesie&num=10&hl=pt&ie=ISO-8859-1&btnG=Pesquisa+Google&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch= |
Request for Answer Clarification by
beagle6750-ga
on
14 Sep 2002 11:40 PDT
Thank you for your prompt reply to my request on sculptor Garella. I
found a photo of "Poesie" among your research file, and lo and behold
it is exactly like the bust I have in Carrara marble signed by Garella
on Poesie's right rear shoulder. Under Garella's signature are the
initials "K B".What do they indicate? Thia bust has been in my
familyfor over ninety years!! Could this be a fake? It sits on a marle
stand four feet tall and the top rotates. How can I find out if this
bust is for real?
|
Clarification of Answer by
thx1138-ga
on
14 Sep 2002 18:20 PDT
Hi beagle6750,
Thank you for the nice rating!
I have a couple of questions before I delve deeper into my
clarification.
1.) In your request for clarification you mention that the letters "K
B" are under the name "Garella" And in your original question you
mention "O. Garella" Where is the "O" in relation to the name
"Garella" ?
2.) Where abouts (roughly) are you in the world?
If you could clarify those two points I'll see what I can find out.
Thank you once again.
Best Regards
THX1138
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
beagle6750-ga
on
17 Sep 2002 09:14 PDT
Thank you, again. In answer to your Questions"
1-The O appears "O.of.Garella." The "K.B." is under the signature.
2- This piece was originally in my family home in Marlehead, Mass,
and is now in South Carolina,USA.
|
Clarification of Answer by
thx1138-ga
on
17 Sep 2002 10:12 PDT
Hi again beagle6750,
As I suspected I have exhausted the internet for references to Antonio
Garella, and so I have sent an e-mail to an expert how might be able
to help us a little more.
However In my recent searches I have discovered that Gallera seems to
have signed his sculptures "Prof.Gallera" now, in your last
clarification you wrote "O.of.Garella." I wonder...is it possible that
the first "O" of the signature is infact a "P" and the space between
"O" and "of" (signified by a "." in your message) is infact a lower
case "r" if so, this would be consistent with what appears to be his
normal signature. Might a suggest having a look with a magnifying
glass!
As for the "K.B." nothing yet I´m afraid, hopefully our expert will be
able to help with this exciting detective work!
I will be in contact as soon as I hear from the experts.
Best regards
THX1138
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
beagle6750-ga
on
18 Sep 2002 08:11 PDT
WOW! You are absolutely correct!! A magnifying glass didn,t do it, but
a rubbing method brought out the loop on top of what I thought was an
"O" turned outto be a "P" and the "R" was lower case and was not
distinguishable by magnifying glass but was by the rubbing method. the
O and F are very clear, so it is signed-"Prof. Garella". Now waiting
to hear about the K B. Very exciting!!
thank you again!!
|
Clarification of Answer by
thx1138-ga
on
18 Sep 2002 10:27 PDT
Hello again beagle6750,
I´m so glad that we were able to confirm that it was “Prof. Garella” !
I have now received the e-mail from the ‘expert’ here are the
questions I asked him, with his answers below each question:
Q. Why there might be 2 busts? (or more?)
A. Artists always make more than one copy.
Q. Under Garella's signature are the initials "K B".What do they
indicate?
A. I don't know.
Q What might the value be of the customers bust?
A. $1500 to $2000 dollars
So (I thought) how does an artist “make more than one copy”? Surely he
doesn´t carve more than one statue from marble by hand! After some
additional research I found the answer: (see next paragraph)
“Most sculptors turned over the transfer into marble to an expert
stone carver. The carver set up a metal framework around the original
plaster model in a shape that matched the dimensions of the marble
block to be carved. By measuring the distance from the metal frame to
the "points" on the plaster model, the carver knew how far to drill
into the marble block at comparable positions. The excess marble
between the drilled holes was cut away to reveal the rough form of the
statue. A master carver removed the final eighth of an inch of stone
and polished it to match the surface on the plaster original.”
http://nmaa-ryder.si.edu/1001/2000/02/021000.html
In my laymans opinion, I would say that your copy of 'Poésie' by
Antonio Garella was made using the process described above, and that
the initials "K B" refer to the “expert stone carver” as described
above.
However this is just my personal opinion! and I would suggest you
contact another expert for a more accurate appraisal, you could also
contact:
Donna Carlson
Art Dealers Association of America
575 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022
phone: 212 940 8590 fax: 212 940 6484
email: adaa@artdealers.org
http://www.artdealers.org/appraisals.html
I have found your question very interesting to research, and it has
been quite an education for me too! I will continue to search for who
“K B” might be but to be honest I am not hopefull of revealing his/her
identity, ofcourse if I unearth any more information I will post it
here and you will be notified by e-mail.
You really do have a beautiful sculpture in 'Poésie' congratulations!
If there are any other points you wish to raise do not hesitate to let
me know.
Very best regards
THX1138
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Request for Answer Clarification by
beagle6750-ga
on
20 Sep 2002 08:28 PDT
Hello again. Thank you for research. I have a couple of questions:
1.-How does one distinguish between a copy and an original? You say
my `Poesie` is a copy! I will contact Donna Carlson as you suggested.
2- What part of the world are you Located? Male or female?
I may have some more items tp look up in the future, so look for my
inquiry. Thanks again.
|
Clarification of Answer by
thx1138-ga
on
20 Sep 2002 09:03 PDT
Hello again beagle6750 !
1.)If your bust was made using the method I have described, then the
'original' is made of plaster and the marble versions were made from
that plaster 'original' Other questions that arise are how many marble
versions were made? (of which yours is one) It is possible that there
might be a number somewhere on your bust if you look very closely,
unless the 'KB' is a coded number. Incidentally assuming the bust was
made in Itally (which is almost certain) I can find almost no
Christian names beginning with 'k' in Itallian! My feeling is that
not many would have been made as I have only located one other apart
from yours and the process of making them is quite complex and
difficult.
When I said 'copy' I meant it was a copy of the plaster 'original' I
do not mean it is a fake or modern re-production. It seems that the
bust you have is an original marble bust that can be attributed to
Prof. Garella.
2.)I am male, and I live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Although I am
English by birth :)
If you have any other questions, just let me know!
Very best regards
THX1138
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