18th Century Garden Sculpture

Late 18th century garden sculpture. Bust of a fantastic creature in the imaginary vein of sculptures from Italian gardens like Bomarzo, of which we know the famous ogre door in particular. Our sculpture is half man half monster, perhaps also half man half animal, we are in the world of the strange, the fantastic. The creature is macrocephalous, the eyes are sunken, the nose prominent, the prognathic chin. A curious mustache-mouth appears on the chest. A sculpted root network rises undulating from its base towards the head. The intention is clearly to surprise the visitor or even to arouse fear. This stone could either be placed on the ground emerging from the earth (like certain sculptures from the Villa Pisani in Stra) or be placed on a column in a labyrinth. This timeless sculpture in its artistic expression is also incredibly modern, fascinating and mysterious.