Art & Statues
Amedeo Gennarelli Bronze Bust with Turban, French Art Deco, circa 1925
Amedeo Gennarelli Bronze Bust with Turban, French Art Deco, circa 1925
This original patinated bronze bust by Amedeo Gennarelli, dating to around 1925, is a refined and sensual example of French Art Deco sculpture. The figure, a bare-shouldered woman with a stylized turban atop her head, turns slightly in profile, her expression contemplative and serene. The modeling of the face is particularly striking—her lips, eyes, and cheekbones are rendered with great naturalism, while the shoulders and neckline reflect Gennarelli’s gift for sensual, flowing form.
The sculpture features a deep, glowing patina and is signed in the cast “A. Gennarelli.” It also bears the inscription “cire perdue” on the reverse, indicating it was cast in France using the lost-wax method, a hallmark of fine early 20th-century bronze production. Every angle of the bust—from the graceful turn of the head to the subtle modeling of the shoulders—reveals a sculptor at the height of his skill.
Amedeo Gennarelli (Naples, 1891 – Paris, 1943) was one of the premier Italian-born sculptors working in France during the Art Deco period. A student of Francesco Jerace, Gennarelli moved to Paris in 1909 and immersed himself in the vibrant artistic circles of the time. Between 1913 and 1936, he regularly exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français, earning a bronze medal in 1923. His smaller bronzes and terracottas were also sold through Alfred Dunhill in Paris, London, and New York.
By the 1930s, Gennarelli was recognized as a leading voice in the Neoclassical revival, co-founding a Paris-based group of figurative sculptors committed to reasserting beauty, realism, and expressive form. Monumental and intimate, his works remain rare and highly sought after today. This bust, with its subtle elegance and extraordinary casting quality, is a museum-worthy example of his oeuvre.
