Achille Belliazzi (1834–1917) Bird With Lizard, Marble Sculpture, Signed

Achille Belliazzi (1834–1917)Bird with Lizard, Carrara marble sculpture, signed and dated 1868.

Born in Naples in 1834, the son of a sculptor of architectural decorations, Achille Belliazzi was trained by Tommaso Solari and inspired by the styles of Alfonso Balzico and Stanislao Lista. He notably created a statue of Charles III of Spain for the Royal Palace of Naples and won several distinctions at the major exhibitions of his time, including a gold medal in Florence in 1874 and a first prize at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1878. A Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy, he taught ornamental decoration at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples between 1895 and 1912. He died in his hometown in 1917.

Made of Carrara statuary marble, the sculpture represents a heron spreading its wings, perched on its long legs. The bird, with its finely detailed plumage, holds a lizard in its beak, which it is about to swallow. The treatment of the marble emphasizes both the lightness of the feathers and the dramatic tension of the scene, where the frozen movement restores the moment of capture.