Giovanni Prini (1877) was an Italian sculptor.

Early life

Prini trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Career

He made his debut in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, in 1898, presenting the sculptural group ''Le spose del Ligure''. He moved to Rome in 1900 and in 1902 he was among the artists who announced themselves in the guidelines of the magazine "Novissima". Prini, a sensitive interpreter of the child's soul, sculpted groups of children who expressed great melancholy; images of a sad childhood that seemed burdened by a cruel fate. In this period he started the collaboration with Manifattura di Signa, for the production of ceramic sculptures, with children. In 1905 he exhibited, in a personal room of the Society of Amateurs and Cultori of Rome, sketches for the monuments of

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

and

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

, charcoal drawings, bronzes with figures of children and oil on paper ''Innamorati on a bench''. He later opened up to social themes, influenced by Giovanni Cena. He tackled work themes and illustrated covers for the weekly "Avanti della Domenica". His bronze of 1907, entitled ''The Blacksmith'', entered the Quirinale collections. He was a popular and recognized artist when he created, in 1911, the bas-relief ''The artist and the artistic battles'' which is in Rome, in front of the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art. It evokes the grandeur of

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

, with suggestions of

classical Greek art Ancient Greek art stands out among that of other ancient cultures for its development of naturalistic but idealized depictions of the human body, in which largely nude male figures were generally the focus of innovation. The rate of stylistic d ...

. For an exhibition in

Castel Sant'Angelo Castel Sant'Angelo ( ), also known as Mausoleum of Hadrian (), is a towering rotunda (cylindrical building) in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. ...

, Prini rebuilt in a plastic form historical parades, drawn from ancient engravings. Prini carved commissioned monuments, friezes of public buildings, portals, sepulchral chapels, statues, fountains. He created the bronze group of the baptismal font in the church of Sant'Eugenio, in Rome, and the "Pietà" that is in the crypt of Church of the Divine Wisdom, of the University of Rome "La Sapienza". In

Sanremo Sanremo, also spelled San Remo in English and formerly in Italian, is a (municipality) on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. Founded in Roman times, it has a population of 55,000, and is known as a tourist destination ...

he carved a luminous fountain dedicated to

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his overthrow in 194 ...

, later destroyed. In 1923, he exhibited in Monza statues to decorate fountains, terracotta, colored statues and, with Vittorio Grassi, furnished the Music Room. At the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

of 1930 he exhibited bronze statuettes in the jewellery section later n the hall of the

Quadrennial An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the date of independence of the nation or the adoption o ...

of Rome, of 1948. His sculpture '' Ritratto di bimba '' is at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome. At the

Vatican Museums The Vatican Museums (; ) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of the best-known Roman sculptures and ...

(Collection of modern religious art) is preserved '' Anna '', a bronze of 1939.

Personal life

He married Orazia Belsito, poet and painter, who opened Prini's home-studio, on

Via Nomentana The Via Nomentana was an ancient Roman road in Italy, leading North-East from Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio ...

, to a select group of friends, intellectuals and artists, including

Umberto Boccioni Umberto Boccioni (; ; 19 October 1882 – 17 August 1916) was an influential Italian painter and sculptor. He helped shape the revolutionary aesthetic of the Futurism movement as one of its principal figures. Despite his short life, his approach ...

, the writer

Sibilla Aleramo Sibilla Aleramo (born Marta Felicina Faccio; 14 August 1876 – 13 January 1960) was an Italian feminist writer and poet known for her autobiographical depictions of life as a woman in late 19th century Italy. Life and career Aleramo was bor ...

, the journalist/writer Giovanni Cena,

Gino Severini Gino Severini (7 April 1883 – 26 February 1966) was an Italian Painting, painter and a leading member of the Futurism (art), Futurist movement. For much of his life he divided his time between Paris and Rome. He was associated with neo-classici ...

Duilio Cambellotti Duilio Cambellotti (10 May 1876 – 31 January 1960) was an Italian applied artist, illustrator, painter, sculptor and designer who played a role in the Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau movements, and whose influence was social and political as we ...

, the sculptor

Ettore Ximenes Ettore Ximenes (11 April 1855 20 December 1926) was an Italian sculptor. Biography Ettore Ximenes was born 11 April 1855 in Palermo, Italy. Son of Antonio Ximenes and Giulia Tolentino, a Sicilian noble woman, Ettore Ximenes initially embarked o ...

and symbolist poet

Sergio Corazzini Sergio Corazzini (6 February 1886 – 17 June 1907) was an Italian poet, a member of the Crepuscolari movement. Biography Born in Rome into a wealthy family, Corazzini formed at the Collegio Umberto I, where he was passionate author and direct ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prini, Giovanni 1877 births Year of death missing Accademia Ligustica di Belle Arti alumni 20th-century Italian sculptors 20th-century Italian male artists