L'Amour Irresistible by Maria Zambaco (née Cassavetti) 1843-1914. Spelter, patinated bronze and gold, 15 ¾x 4 ¼ x 9 ½ inches. Courtesy of the Maas Gallery London. Click on image to enlarge it
About 1880, Zambaco gave up drawing for sculpture, studying with Alphonse Legros at the Slade and with Rodin in Paris, modelling portrait medallions, including one of her cousin Marie Spartali, and then this figure of irresistible love, referencing perhaps her earlier relationship with Burne-Jones. She exhibited a cast of it (or a larger version) in Paris under her maiden name of Cassavetti, presumably because Dr Zambaco was also then in Paris. Neither this version nor the larger one appears to have been cast in bronze, but instead in spelter, a cheaper zinc–lead alloy that can be coloured with gold and bronze. If done well it is highly effective. — Maas Gallery.
The Maas Gallery, 6 Duke Street St James's, London SW1Y 6BN, has most generously given its permission to use in the Victorian Web information, images, and text from its catalogues, and this generosity has led to the creation of many valuable documents on painting and drawing. The copyright on text and images from their catalogues remains, of course, with the Gallery. Readers should consult their website to obtain information about recent exhibitions and to order their catalogues.— George P. Landow]
Last modified 24 June 2022