Filippo Cifariello - Untitled

Portraiture is one of the most widespread artistic expressions, especially in painting, but also in sculpture, throughout the ages. Portraiture is, first and foremost, a description of the subject depicted, an attempt to capture their physiognomy and individual characteristics truthfully and naturally. With the progressive evolution of artistic research, the physiognomic description of the subject has also been accompanied by a psychological one. Therefore, over the centuries, portraiture has also become a means of introspective investigation of the subject, their character, and their state of mind. The processes of abstraction brought about by contemporary art have contributed to this type of investigation.

The artistic language with which the sculptor interpreted the model reveals a desire to achieve a completely naturalistic rendering of the subject, but also to go beyond that. In this sense, the artist pursues a true realism that takes into account every minute detail to provide us with not only a physiognomic portrait, but also an image of the sitter's social context. This is emblematic of Filippo Cifariello's training, which took place within the context of Neapolitan Verismo. Thus, we can appreciate how this child is depicted in a casual pose, almost surprised by his comical and childlike expression. There are no idealizing filters, and thus the artist provides us with a delightful portrait that allows us to understand the sitter beyond his physical characteristics.

Filippo Cifariello was a sculptor, son of Antonio Cifariello, born in 1864 in Molfetta and died in Naples in 1936. He participated in the Neapolitan Verismo school, inspired by Vincenzo Gemito, and was one of the most active late neoclassical sculptors of the era, producing works in bronze, marble, terracotta, and silver. A dark family tragedy shattered his life, as on August 10, 1905, he killed his wife, the French singer Maria De Browne, with a revolver. Other tragedies marked his troubled existence, leading him to take his own life. Some of his works are in museums in Budapest, Düsseldorf, Berlin, Naples, Rome, Teano, Bari, and his native Molfetta. He also created numerous public works.

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