Giuseppe Garibaldi (Ney)
Giuseppe Garibaldi is a sculpture of Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi by German sculptor Elisabet Ney. Completed in 1866, the piece is a portrait bust rendered in marble. The portrait was modeled and carved in Italy, but it is now held by the Elisabet Ney Museum in Austin, Texas. History In May 1865, German sculptor Elisabet Ney traveled to the small Sardinian island of Caprera to seek out the prominent Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi, whose portrait she had decided to sculpt. Garibaldi initially refused to sit for her, but she insisted and finally persuaded him to cooperate. She composed the bust with Garibaldi for at least two weeks, during which time they frequently walked the island together and talked of his political aims and his frustration with the state of Italian politics. Ney remained on Caprera long enough to complete the bust, along with a miniature statuette of the general. Ney cut the final bust in marble the following year in her studio in Rome, where she and her husband were then living. Later in life, she brought the piece with her to Texas, where it was held for a time after her death by the Fort Worth Art Museum (now