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Vincenzo Gemito

The Water Carrier, ca. 1880

Now On View

Description

Maker

  • Vincenzo Gemito, 1852-1929, Italian

Title

The Water Carrier

Year

ca. 1880

Medium

Bronze

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • bronze

Dimensions

40.5 x 22.9 x 27.9 cm (15 15/16 x 9 x 11 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

On base:Dall Originale Propta Del Re Di Napoli S.M. Francesco II Napoli GemitoProprietà Artistica.

Type

  • Sculpture

Credit

Bequest of Miss Ellen D. Sharpe

Object Number

54.147.23

Projects & Publications

Publications

Pilgrims of Beauty

Art and Inspiration in 19th-Century Italy
Read Online

European Paintings and Sculpture, ca. 1770 - 1937

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Raid the Icebox Now with Nicole Eisenman

November 1, 2019 - May 1, 2021

Pilgrims of Beauty

February 3 - July 8, 2012

This statuette of a young water vendor was one of Vincenzo Gemito’s most acclaimed and best-selling works, available from the artist’s bronze foundry in Naples either nude (as seen here) or wearing a loincloth. Breaking with the tradition of idealized marble sculpture dominant from the time of Antonio Canova and still practiced by contemporaries like Randolph Rogers, Gemito presents an Italian street urchin in an unconventional pose, humanized by his cheeky grin and dynamic, engaging gesture. The statue’s nudity blurs lines between the past and the present, allowing viewers to interpret him as a figure from ancient Roman history or as an impoverished citizen of modern-day Naples. Gemito himself had grown up an orphan on the streets, eventually receiving training in sculptural modeling. Familiarity with this world may account for his sympathetic portrayal of the beggar child. The size of this piece and its basin pedestal also suggest a relation between contemporary sculpture and small fountain bronzes excavated from ancient Pompeii.

Italian Art in Celebration of Rhode Island’s Italian Festival; Seven Centuries of Italian Art

April 12 - May 21, 1967

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is The Water Carrier with the accession number of 54.147.23. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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