Signature at the base.

Born in Pavia in 1849 and student at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan, Donato Barcaglia was a pupil of the sculptor Abbondio Sangiorgio, reaching success at a very young age (seventeen years old) for his sculpture "Il vendemmiatore", acquired in 1866 by the Società di Belle Arti of Milan, and then obtaining numerous awards at international exhibitions, including Vienna (1873), Florence (1875) and Philadelphia (1876). A version of his sculpture of the "Athlete" was instead awarded the gold medal at the 1902 St. Petersburg Exposition, while a marble example is in the Fondazione Cariplo Collection.

Comparative Literature: V.Vincenzo, "Gli scultori italiani dal Neoclassicismo al Liberty", Lodi 1994, p. 71.
A. Panzetta, "Nuovo dizionario degli scultori italiani", Turin 2003, vol. 1, p. 72.