'La Vendemmiatrice', large Italian marble sculpture by Vichi

‘La Vendemmiatrice’ by the celebrated Italian sculptor Ferdinando Vichi, portrays a young woman harvesting grapes—the sculpture’s title, ‘La Vendemmiatrice’, translates into English as ‘the harvester’. The woman, her body a superb demonstration of contrapposto, holds her right arm above her head, her hand grasping a long, winding vine that she grabs again with her left hand, which is braced against her waist.

In its palpable movement and intensity of feeling, the ‘La Vendemmiatrice’ epitomises the Romantic character of the Belle Époque in Italy. The sculpture, brought to life from beautiful white marble, is an exceptional piece of Italian art.

Active in Florence in the late 19th and early 20th Century, Ferdinando Vichi was a well-established artist who was connected to the sculptors of the Galleria Bazzanti workshops, such as Cesare Lapini and Guglielmo Pugi. By the end of the 19th Century, Vichi was so well known as a sculptor that he had an alabaster workshop named after him.

The sculpture is signed and situated 'F. Vichi / Firenze' to the base.