# Vincenzo Gemito artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/vincenzo-gemito/
Profile generated: 2026-05-06T19:06:51.384Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1852-07-17
- Death date: 1929-03-01
- Nationality: Italian
- Common media: sculpture (bronze, terracotta, marble), drawing, goldsmithing and metalwork, pastel, painting

## About Vincenzo Gemito

Vincenzo Gemito (1852–1929) was an Italian sculptor, draftsman, goldsmith, and painter active from the late 1860s through the 1920s. Recognized across major authority files including the Library of Congress, Getty ULAN, and VIAF, Gemito built his reputation primarily as a sculptor working in bronze, terracotta, and marble, while also producing accomplished drawings and pastels. His practice spanned figurative sculpture, portrait busts, and decorative metalwork. Active for over six decades, Gemito's work reflects the Italian figurative traditions of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He is recorded in the RKD with 93 documented works in their images database, and collectors today encounter his pieces regularly through international auction markets. His identity and biography are well-established across multiple independent authority sources.

## Common works and media

Gemito is best known for bronze sculptures, including portrait busts, figurative statuettes, and small-scale genre groups. Terracotta and plaster models, preparatory drawings in charcoal and chalk, pastel works, and occasional paintings also appear in auction and museum contexts. His goldsmithing and metalwork pieces are rarer but documented in authority records.

## Market and appraisal context

Vincenzo Gemito maintains an active and well-documented international auction market. The Appraisily database records 414 total lots with 253 carrying realized prices, spanning October 2003 through April 2026. Liquidity is rising: 44 lots appeared in the most recent 12 months compared to 30 in the prior 12-month window, indicating growing supply and collector interest. Price dispersion is wide but characteristic of a sculptor with both decorative-tier and museum-quality output. The interquartile range runs from approximately €500 to €3,000, with a median near €1,200. Exceptional works—particularly documented portrait busts and large-scale bronzes with strong provenance—have reached €28,000 (Portrait de Mathilde Duffaud, Crait-Muller, November 2025) and €13,500 (Le Philosophe, deuxième version, Crait-Muller, November 2025). At the entry level, small bronzes and drawings trade between €100 and €500. The market is concentrated in Italian houses—Bolli & Romiti, Wannenes, Cambi Casa d'Aste, Il Ponte, Finarte, and Gonnelli handle the bulk of volume—but blue-chip presence is confirmed through regular appearances at Sotheby's, Christie's, and Bonhams. Works also surface at U.S. and UK regional houses (Neal Auction Company, Abell Auction, Hutchinson Scott, Blue Box Auction Gallery), reflecting a dispersed international collector base.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Vincenzo Gemito maintains an active and well-documented international auction market. The Appraisily database records 414 total lots with 253 carrying realized prices, spanning October 2003 through April 2026. Liquidity is rising: 44 lots appeared in the most recent 12 months compared to 30 in the prior 12-month window, indicating growing supply and collector interest. Price dispersion is wide but characteristic of a sculptor with both decorative-tier and museum-quality output. The interquartile range runs from approximately €500 to €3,000, with a median near €1,200. Exceptional works—particularly documented portrait busts and large-scale bronzes with strong provenance—have reached €28,000 (Portrait de Mathilde Duffaud, Crait-Muller, November 2025) and €13,500 (Le Philosophe, deuxième version, Crait-Muller, November 2025). At the entry level, small bronzes and drawings trade between €100 and €500. The market is concentrated in Italian houses—Bolli & Romiti, Wannenes, Cambi Casa d'Aste, Il Ponte, Finarte, and Gonnelli handle the bulk of volume—but blue-chip presence is confirmed through regular appearances at Sotheby's, Christie's, and Bonhams. Works also surface at U.S. and UK regional houses (Neal Auction Company, Abell Auction, Hutchinson Scott, Blue Box Auction Gallery), reflecting a dispersed international collector base.

### Appraisal notes

Appraisily would use the 414-lot auction record set as a comparable-sales baseline, then refine against the specific object's photographs, dimensions, medium, and signature or foundry marks. For bronzes, edition or casting details (single-author casts vs. posthumous editions), patina quality, and foundry stamps are critical differentiators—recent lots show that identically titled subjects (e.g., Water carrier, Satyr head) can vary by an order of magnitude depending on size, finish, and provenance documentation. Drawings and pastels require attribution support through connoisseurship or expert certificates, since authority records list Gemito as active across drawing, pastel, and painting but the auction market is dominated by sculpture. The price distribution (P25 €500, median €1,200, P75 €3,000, max €42,000) means an appraiser must identify where the subject piece falls on that spectrum before citing comparables. Condition reports—especially patina loss, repairs, or re-bronzing—are material to value. Provenance linking to Gemito's documented period of activity (c. 1868–1929) or to known collections adds premium. The Appraisily records provide lot-level house, date, and price data; the appraiser cross-references these with the object's physical evidence to arrive at a supported fair-market or replacement value.

### Valuation factors

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### Collector notes

- The market is liquid and accessible: 44 lots in the past 12 months across Italian, French, British, and American houses mean buying opportunities arise frequently.
- Entry-level Gemito bronzes (small statuettes, common titles like Water carrier or Satyr head) can be acquired in the €300–€700 range, primarily through Italian regional houses and smaller U.S. auctioneers.
- Museum-quality works—large portrait busts, documented period casts, pieces with named-sitter provenance—trade in the €10,000–€30,000+ band and appear most often at Crait-Muller, Sotheby's, Christie's, and Wannenes.
- Sellers should ensure bronze lots are photographed with foundry marks visible and should provide any provenance documentation, as these materially affect realized prices.
- The rising lot count (30 → 44 year-over-year) suggests increasing market visibility but also increasing supply; collectors should be selective about quality and attribution rather than assuming across-the-board appreciation.
- Works appearing at blue-chip houses (Sotheby's, Christie's, Bonhams) tend to carry higher estimates and stronger provenance documentation, which can provide comfort on attribution but also higher entry prices.

### Market caveats

- All prices and lot data are derived from the Appraisily auction-record index, which aggregates public auction feeds. Individual lot records may not capture buyer's premiums, unsold withdrawals, or post-sale adjustments.
- The 414-lot dataset includes lots with no realized price (unsold or price not reported), meaning effective liquidity and price benchmarks should reference the 253 priced lots.
- Multiple recent lots carry minimal titles (e.g., 'Vincenzo Gemito' with no further description), which may indicate attribution uncertainty or cataloging shorthand. Buyers should verify medium, subject, and dimensions before relying on these as comparables.
- Gemito's work spans sculpture, drawing, pastel, painting, and goldsmithing, but the auction market is heavily weighted toward bronze sculpture. Valuation for works on paper or metalwork should reference narrower comparable sets and may require specialist appraisal.
- The max recorded price (€42,000) predates the recent lot window and may reflect a different market cycle or a work of exceptional provenance; it should not be assumed as a typical ceiling.
- Authority records note a birth-date discrepancy (LoC: July 17, 1852; RKD: July 16, 1852). This does not affect attribution but should be noted in formal appraisal reports.

### Market evidence sources

- Appraisily auction record index: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/vincenzo-gemito/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-vincenzo-gemito-italian-1852-1929-self-portrait-red-wax-over-plaster-117-c-c18cf550b4
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-vincenzo-gemito-1852-1929-female-head-401-c-81621daf39
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-vincenzo-gemito-1852-1929-portrait-de-mathilde-duffaud-83-c-ec2470c9d8
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-vincenzo-gemito-1852-1929-le-philosophe-deuxieme-version-82-c-e4741756fe
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-vincenzo-gemito-narcissus-bronze-sculpture-46-c-40d4f958e2
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-vincenzo-gemito-1852-1929-a-late-19th-century-patinated-bronze-bust-934-c-21142eebc4
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-vincenzo-gemito-italian-1852-1929-philosopher-bronze-sculpture-143-c-3f749bea0e
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-vincenzo-gemito-italian-1852-1929-satyr-head-bronze-sculpture-142-c-ea646229b0
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-vincenzo-gemito-naples-1852-naples-1929-bust-of-mathilde-duffaud-413-c-6574e27869
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-vincenzo-gemito-naples-1852-naples-1929-water-carrier-412-c-c704e1ab7c

## Appraisily data basis

This Appraisily artist page combines identity research from Getty ULAN, VIAF, the Library of Congress, RKD, and Wikidata with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots from the Appraisily database when those records are available.

## Sources

- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr90028033
- RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History): https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/251551
- VIAF (OCLC): https://viaf.org/viaf/22941857/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500021790
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1228666
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincenzo_Gemito