Assen Peikov was born in Sofia in 1908 and died in Rome in 1973. He trained as a sculptor at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia under Andrei Nikolov and graduated with a gold medal. After travelling outside Bulgaria, he settled in Rome in 1938, where he developed most of his international career.
Assen Peikov in Rome and Via Margutta
In Rome, Peikov established a studio in Via Margutta, one of the city’s most important artistic streets.
His studio soon became a meeting place for artists and intellectuals. Among those connected with his circle were Giorgio de Chirico, Alberto Savinio, Bruno Barilli, Renato Guttuso and Pericle Fazzini. As a result, Peikov became increasingly integrated into the cultural life of the Italian capital.
Sculptural portraiture
Portraiture became one of the central areas of his work.
Peikov remained committed to figurative sculpture while developing a strong interest in the psychology of his sitters. His heads and busts combine solid construction with expressive intensity, recalling the tradition of ancient Roman portraiture while remaining distinctly modern.
During the 1950s and 1960s, he became one of the most sought-after portrait sculptors in Italy. His sitters included Giorgio de Chirico, Sophia Loren, Ava Gardner, Federico Fellini and Alexander Fleming. Moreover, in 1956 he became the first sculptor to receive permission to portray Pope Pius XII.
Available work in the gallery
Among the works currently available is a drawing by Assen Peikov, offering an interesting insight into his graphic practice and his ability to construct the human figure through line. View the full artwork page for technique, dimensions and condition.
Leonardo da Vinci and monumental sculpture
Peikov’s best-known work is the monumental statue of Leonardo da Vinci at Rome Fiumicino Airport.
The approximately nine-metre-high figure was inaugurated in 1960 and became one of the airport’s most recognisable landmarks. Leonardo is shown standing, with one hand raised towards the sky and the other associated with his aerial-screw design.
Alongside portraiture, Peikov developed an important body of monumental and decorative sculpture. Consequently, his work ranges from intimate busts to large public monuments without abandoning a consistently figurative language.
Between Bulgaria and Italy
Although Peikov lived and worked in Italy for more than thirty years, he maintained strong ties with Bulgaria.
His career represents an important example of an Eastern European artist fully integrated into post-war Roman culture. After his death, his contribution was recognised in both countries: a square in Rome and a street in Sofia bear his name.
Today, his work remains significant within twentieth-century figurative sculpture, particularly for its psychological portraiture and monumental ambition.
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