Giuseppe Grandi (Italian, 1843-1894) Cesare Beccaria; Alessandro Volta (two works), circa 1870 Plaster; bronze 27 x 8-1/2 x 9 inches (68.6 x 21.6 x 22.9 cm) (largest) The first: inscribed on front of base: Beccaria The second: inscribed on front of base: Volta Property from the Dr. Sheldon G. and Irma H. Gilgore Collection of Italian Art 1850-1925 PROVENANCE: The first: Galleria Carlo Virgilio, Roma; Acquired from the above, March 9, 2004. The second: Interart Cultural Exchange, New York; Acquired from the above, January 24, 1994. EXHIBITED: The first: Gypsoteca-Museo Antonio Canova, Possagno, Italy, "Ottanta gessi originali dall' Otto al Novecento," March 3 - April 30, 2004, no. 71. LITERATURE: The first: Gypsoteca-Museo Antonio Canova, Possagno, Italy, Ottanta gessi originali dall' Otto al Novecento, exh. cat., 2004. The painter, printmaker, and sculptor Giuseppe Grandi was one of the earliest members of Milan's Scapigliatura. His first major monument, dedicated to the Milanese jurist and economist Cesare Beccaria, was inaugurated in Piazza Beccaria, Milan, in 1871. Several bronze reductions were produced and, as with this plaster version, demonstrate Grandi's incorporation of naturalism and the sketchier, more expressive style of the Scapigliatura (Winds of Change, The Milanese Avant Garde, The Gilgore Collection, exh. cat., Naples, Florida, 2003, p. 58). The sculpture was followed by other portraits of historic Italians, such as Alessandro Volta, inventor of the electric battery. HID12401132022 © 2026 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved www.HA.com/TexasAuctioneerLicenseNotice

The second: Gypsoteca-Museo Antonio Canova, Possagno, Italy, "Ottanta gessi originali dall' Otto al Novecento," March 3 - April 30, 2004, no. 71.

The first: Interart Cultural Exchange, New York; Acquired by the present owner from the above, January 24, 1994. The second: Galleria Carlo Virgilio, Roma; Acquired by the present owner from the above, March 9, 2004.

The first:
Scattered white surface accretions on back of base with drip formation on figure's coat. Oxidation to recesses. Crack to side of base.
The second:
Surface dirt with scattered yellow-brown surface accretions. Scattered minor losses to areas of high relief, such as left end of figure's coat and figure's nose.