The Work by Benedetto Civiletti

Cambi Auction House presents the live auction dedicated to 19th- and 20th-century Sculpture, to be held on Thursday, March 28, 2024 in Genoa at Castello Mackenzie. Among the many sculptural works featured in the auction catalog, the impressive sculpture by Benedetto Civiletti (1846 Palermo – 1899 Palermo) stands out.

Benedetto Civiletti (1846 Palermo – 1899 Palermo), cast and patinated bronze, The Work, 1895, Cast by Francesco Bracale, Naples, 110 x 70 x 190 cm

Of humble origins, Benedetto Civiletti began his artistic career under the tutelage of Sicilian deputy Giuseppe Galati de Spuches, participating not yet 20 years old in the Regional Exhibition of 1863.

Thanks to the support of generous supporters he obtained a grant that allowed him to move in 1864 to Florence where he continued his studies under the guidance of Giovanni Duprè who directed his artistic production in a verist direction.

He returned to Palermo in 1875 and was the author of numerous public works including the bronze equestrian monument dedicated to Victor Emanuel II executed in 1866. In 1875, on the occasion of the Congress of Scientists, Civiletti exhibited the group “Canaris in Scio” in the Sicilian capital, which was purchased by Prince Victor Emmanuel and donated to the city the following year.

In 1878 the work was presented at the Universal Exhibition in Paris where it was awarded the gold medal, thus consecrating Civiletti to international notoriety.

Also belonging to these important works is the striking bronze work “Il lavoro,” whose plaster sketch, now kept at the Palermo Art Gallery, was presented at the Venice exhibition in 1895. The bronze was to be part, together with another work by sculptor Mario Rutelli (Palermo 1859 – Rome 1941) entitled “La Navigazione,” of a majestic commemorative monument, which unfortunately remained unfinished, dedicated to entrepreneur and politician Vincenzo Florio.

Villa Florio, Favignana

Two examples of this work were executed by Civiletti-one now placed in Piazza Castelnuovo in Palermo and ours commissioned by Ignazio Florio placed in the garden of Villa Florio in Favignana.

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