19th century
Moretto shelf support
Polychrome and gilded wood, height 75 cm
The fascination with Middle Eastern culture, evident in the sculptural production representing moors and odalisques, acquires a maximum charge of exoticism in this example. The Moretto, dressed in splendid brocade and richly decorated clothes, moves one foot in hinting at a step, counterbalancing, at the same time, with the right side; the voluminous knot fixed on the pelvis, from which decorated draperies rain down, contributes to reinvigorate the central part of the sculpture, visually reinforcing it to better support the shelf placed on top. The figure, which wears typically oriental babouches, is balanced on a gondola. The subtle polychromy that illuminates the Moretto follows the fullness and recesses of the reliefs, enlivening appearances, like the visual detachment offered by gold compared to the dark wooden background. The diffusion of Moorish candelabra holders, shelf supports, half-round as part of furniture and the like, is part of the traditional path of self-celebration of the European powers, praising their military victories through a figurative instrumentalization of the image of the defeated populations. This sculpture exacerbates the oriental charm of the "other" culture by choosing to depict the Moor not only with local clothes but, through a cultural mix, offering the viewer the charm of the sweetened oriental world.