Cesare Lapini was a sculptor of allegorical and genre subjects and models after the Antique which he sold with great success from his Florence shop to an elite global clientele.  His unique compositions of partially disrobed maidens, such as La Sorpresa, and his allegorical creations of figures taking flight, and his group Celeste, are his most popular subjects.  The Galleria Lapini exhibited an impressive number of such statues at the Paris 1900 Exposition universelle....