Giuseppe Dini, Group with two boys, 1853

Giuseppe Dini (Novara, 1820 - Turin, 1890)

The subject of this signed and dated marble group, previously published in a repertoire of sculpture in Piedmont between the 19th and 20th centuries, remains elusive.
It depicts two small boys, both nude (a small drapery covers the private parts of both); the seated boy appears clearly older than the other, to whom he turns holding up one finger pointed towards the sky and embracing him with an almost paternal gesture. Te group may have had an allegorical meaning, within an almost domestic, wholly natural dimension.
Inscribed on the base: 'P.Q. DINI F. 1853'

LITERATURE:
A.Bacchi, “Group With Two Boys", in A. Bacchi, Ed., A Taste For Sculpture VI, London 2019, pp. 126-131, No. 13 (Illustrated).