The Paris Salon of 1893, held by the French Académie des Beaux-Arts, was one of the most important art exhibits of its time. Among the entries was a small bronze statue of a teenage girl in nun’s attire, leaning pensively on the back of her chair, chin in hand. It was called Dopo il Voto – After the Vow – and the girl’s rueful awareness of how much she had renounced was so clear that the sculpture became the talk of the show. The young Italian who made it, Pietro Canonica from Turin, was just 24 years old, but he soon began to receive commissions from the international beau-monde.
His portraits were especially valued for his ability to convey emotions in bronze and stone, and for his technical virtuosity.