Bather – Sculpture in La Serena

Bather depicts a young woman gathering her cloth beside an ornamented urn. The partial nudity, restrained gesture and contrast between the smooth body and the folds connect the composition with the classical tradition of bathing subjects, cultivated by nineteenth-century Italian academic sculpture.

The sculpture is an original work by Gaetano Mercanti and retains his cursive signature, incised on the base of the sculpture itself. In his Memoirs, published in 1975, Gabriel González Videla records it as “Bañante, by Mercanti,” with a height of 1.65 metres, and explicitly describes it as an original signed sculpture. It was purchased in Rome from the gallery named “Massino Tuena” in the catalogue, on Via Margutta, for the open-air museum formed during the Plan Serena. That name probably refers to the Galleria di Massimo Tuena, documented at Via Margutta 53b during the post-war period.

In 2007, the Centro Nacional de Conservación y Restauración included La Bañista among the sculptures inspected to discuss future treatments. The 2024 municipal loan agreement identifies it as “Escultura La Bañista.” These records form part of its heritage history; its individual arrival date in Chile and installation date on the avenue remain undocumented.