76 - Italian School; first quarter of the 20th century.

Italian School; first quarter of the 20th century. “Female Bust.” c. 1920. Carved marble. Signed “A.MICHELOTTI”. Measurements: 35 x 24 x 12 cm. A sculptural female bust carved from marble depicting a young woman. The figure stands out for the serenity of her expression and the idealization of her features, with meticulous attention to the face and a balanced composition.One of the most striking elements is the headdress, which is tightly fitted to the head and decorated with geometric motifs; together with the pronounced curls framing the face, it lends the sculpture personality and an ornamental quality. The rendering of the hair and the details of the headdress demonstrate a combination of figurative representation and decorative stylization. The work dates to the first quarter of the 20th century, during the development of Art Deco, an artistic movement that reached its peak in the 1920s and 1930s. This style was characterized by a pursuit of elegance and modernity through the simplification of forms, the geometrization of decorative motifs, and the stylization of figures. In Italy, these new trends coexisted with the classical sculptural tradition, giving rise to works that combined the idealization of the human figure and mastery of traditional materials, such as marble, with a more modern ornamental language. In this bust, this influence is particularly evident in the geometric headdress and the stylized treatment of the hair, which reflect the characteristic decorative taste of the era.