LA SONNAMBOLA
A mid 19th century marble figure entitled ‘La Sonnambola’ (the sleepwalker), the edged rectangular base in the front signed LA SONNAMBOLA, the right side of the statue signedGIOVANNI FONTANASCULPTOR. The master copy of this statue is in the Collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia ( picture see black-and-white photograph under photographs).
Dimensions: 158 cms high. Base: 44,5 x 42 cms.
Condition: right forearm lacking. Chips to toes.
Reference: ARC022009
Literature:
The Somnambula, somnambulist or “the sleepwalker,” relates to Somnus, the Roman god of sleep, but Fontana probably based this figure on Vincenzo Bellini’s popular nineteenth-century opera ‘La Sonnambula’ (1831). The heroine of the opera, Amina, sleepwalks into the room of another man, whom she mistakes for her fiancé Elvino. In a jealous rage, Elvino accuses her of having a lover, who, to no avail, pleads with him that they are not in love, but that she is a “sleepwalker.” Elvino realizes his mistake when Amina, lamp in her hand, sleepwalks across a bridge and almost falls, but is awakened and rescued.Giovanni Giuseppe Fontana (1821--1893)
Sculptor and watercolourist, born at Carrara. He gained a gold medal at Carrara Academy and later was awarded a scholarship to Rome. He aligned himself politically with Garibaldi and came to England as an exile in 1848. Subsequently he became a naturalised British citizen and remained here for the rest of his life. He exhibited in London from 1852 to 1886, notably at the RA and the New Watercolour Society. In addition to the Corporation of Liverpool, he received commissions from the Governments of Sydney and New South Wales. A number of his works are in the collection of the Walker Art Gallery (Liverpool).
(sources: Art Journal [obit.], 1894; Bénézit, 1976) [L 1997]