Edoardo Rossi

Edoardo Rossi was born in Naples in 1867 and trained at the Neapolitan Academy of Fine Arts, where he found master Achille D’Orsi as professor and director.

In 1890 he took part in his first exhibition, the Promotrice di Napoli, presenting the bronzes Maria, Micheluccio, Pasquale di Santa Lucia and the marble sculpture Monello. In the portrait-busts, his realist turn can already be seen, despite Art Nouveau reminiscences.

In 1892 he participated in another edition of the Promotrice di Napoli with A.R. the Prince of Naples, Vittoria and Pescatore di polipi, a bronze statue depicting a boy grappling with an octopus that is trying to free itself from his grasp. The sculptor captures all the spontaneity of a moment of everyday life, making him one of the greatest interpreters of Neapolitan realism.

Edoardo Rossi takes up the tradition of Neapolitan sculpture, making special reference to the language of Achille D’Orsi and Vincenzo Gemito, depicting boys, children, the so-called “scugnizzi,” protagonists of everyday life in his Naples. In fact, the octopus fisherman was also depicted by D’Orsi, while Gemito immortalized, in his famous Pescatoriello, a boy who is trying to unhook a freshly caught fish. Rossi also recalls in the arduous pose the sculptural works of the two masters.

Quotations for Edoardo Rossi’s works range from €150 to an auction record of €6500.