Terracotta sculpture depicting St. Anthony.
Authentication of the sculpture by Maretto's daughter.
Giuseppe Maretto (Milan, March 26, 1908[1] – 1984) was an Italian sculptor, painter, enameller, and medalist active mainly in Milan in the first half of the twentieth century.
He exhibited at a very young age at the V Milan Triennale of 1933 with three sculptures: a formella for the IV station of the Via Crucis[2] and the bas-relief Moses Brings Water from the Rock in the Pavilion of the exhibition of sacred art; in the Housing Exhibition pavilion (arch. Scoccimarro, Zanini and Midena) he presented, in the context of the Aviator's House, a garden statue entitled La Vittoria. [3]
From 1937-1939 are the two monumental twin statues placed on the building designed by Lancia opposite Palazzo Mezzanotte in Piazza degli Affari in Milan. From 1932 the fountain with a statue of Saint Anthony of Padua preaching to the fish, located in front of the Sanctuary of Saint Anthony of Padua in Via Farini, damaged, probably by vandals, on September 18, 2020. He also created the monumental fountain with a sculpture depicting a "river god" around whose limbs a snake is coiled, which adorns the courtyard of the famous Casa della Fontana[4] (architects Rino Ferrini and Franco Bruni, 1934-1936) in Viale Vittorio Veneto 24.[5] For the church of Sant'Elena di Quarto Cagnino he sculpted The Invention of the Cross; for the Milan cathedral a statue of Saint Lucia; for the church of San Gioachimo a copper Via Crucis.
Maretto also had an intense activity as an enameller and medalist. [1]
Base dimensions 16 x 24 cm; height 36 cm
Authentication by the sculptor's daughter.
