Abel at The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg

myminifactory

In an open contest run by the Accademia di Belle Arti, Giovanni Dupre seized first prize with his breathtaking Judgment of Paris, cementing his reputation with a life-size figure of the deceased Abel that was eagerly purchased for Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaievna, Duchess of Leuchtenberg. The stunning work is now displayed at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, and its bronze replica, crafted around 1839, can be admired at the Galleria d'arte moderna within Palazzo Pitti in Florence. The raw naturalism of the figure sparked shock upon its unveiling, signaling the beginning of the end of Neoclassicism in Italian sculpture and earning Dupre the enthusiastic encouragement of Lorenzo Bartolini. He went on to create a more classical Cain in 1840, which is also showcased at the Hermitage Museum but in marble, while a bronze version is displayed at Palazzo Pitti. Dupre continued to gain recognition with his figures of Giotto and Saint Antonino of Florence, skillfully embedded in façade niches on the Uffizi, as well as a majestic bust of Pius II for the Church of San Domenico in Siena.