Nymph Resting

Nymph Resting is a testament to the ability of Salvatore Albano – whose work in marble garnered acclaim in Italy and abroad – to blend elements of Neoclassicism and Realism into a single sculptural work. Although the subject of the nymph looks back to antiquity, Albano’s attention to the individualized features of the model – the soft curve of her hand and the gentle bend of her lips, the dimples in her lower back and the wave of her hair, bound in an intricate chignon – roots the sculpture firmly within the naturalist tradition that developed in Italy in the late nineteenth century. The nymph rests on an elaborately decorated chair with brocade fringe that underscores the renewed interest in early Renaissance design typical of the period. Nymph Resting is representative of Italian sculpture of the second half of the nineteenth century, distinguished by its break from the canons of Neoclassicism.