Raffaelo Monti was destined to become a sculptor having been born, in Switzerland 1818, the son of Italian sculptor Gaetano Monti of Ravenna. In Raffaelo’s early years he studied under his father Gaetano, who worked on the Milan Cathedral and on monuments erected during Napoleon’s reign, leaving Raffaelo Monti with a unique perspective in stone. He went on to study in Milan and ventured to Vienna to start his career under Munich sculptor Ludwig Schaller. Although Monti was surrounded by artists celebrating a style of new realism his work continued to remain very classical. In October of 1846 Monti was visited by the 6th Duke of Devonshire, William Cavendish, in his Milan studio. The bachelor Duke put down a £60 deposit the next day toward a marble sculpture for his London home Chiswick House. The Veiled Vestal Virgin was transported to London from Milan in April of 1847. In 1999 the sculpture was moved to Chatsworth House to join the great collection of masterpieces acquired by Dukes of Devonshire past and present. (https://youvecaughtmyeye.wordpress.com/) Raffaele Monti (1818–1881) was an Italian sculptor, author and poet born in Milan. He studied under his father, the noted sculptor Gaetano Matteo Monti in the Imperial Academy. He was invited to Vienna while aged only 20 where he received extensive patronage, he subsequently returned to Milan in 1840. In 1846 Monti travelled to England for the year, and later settled there. Monti exhibited at the Royal Academy, and soon earned recognition as a leading sculptor with his piece for the 6th Duke of Devonshire, the "Veiled Vestal" a figure with illusionistic veil, a specialism of his. A bust based on this work, cast in Parian porcelain by Copeland titled "The Bride", but often known as "The Veiled Bride", was issued in 1861 by the Crystal Palace Art Union. This bust became one of the most popular Parian busts ever produced. Monti produced sculptures working in... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raffaelle_Monti undefined

More on Google