Arturo Martini was the greatest Italian sculptor of the 20th century.

He was in Treviso in 1889 and died in Milan in 1947.

His art is defined by great freedom of invention, having renewed classical expression and experimented with special techniques taken from antiquity, such as terracotta.

His greatness was in his ability to turn everyday gestures and moments into poetic images.

He succeeded in renewing the message of ancient art in modern art.

His friend, the writer Giovanni Comisso, said of him, “He wanted to go beyond all the imaginations created by sculpture before him. He was a creator of stories and dramas in marble, bronze, terracotta, and stone that he found himself in lesser-known quarries. He was a great storyteller with such an enormous fantasy that it will take centuries for Italian sculpture to surpass him.”

That is no exaggeration.

Arturo Martini was a truly great figure at the forefront of the revival of 20th-century sculpture.

He left school at 12 years old and went to work with a goldsmith to learn a trade. Martini took sculpting classes at an evening school. He went to work in the studio of Antonio Carlini, a well-known sculptor from Treviso.

In 1906, Martini visited Sempione’s first international exhibition in Milan. There he discovered Art Deco and the impressionist sculpture of Paolo Troubetzkoy.

In 1907, a scholarship enabled him to go to Venice, where he attended the Scuola Libera del Nudo at the Academy of Fine Arts and spent time in the studio of the sculptor Urbano Nono. He saw photographs of works by Metardo Rosso, a well-known impressionist sculptor, and was impressed by his work, their themes of everyday life, and the effects of light on the surface of his works.

Martini exhibited at the first exhibition of Ca’ Pesaro in Venice.

The organizer, Nino Barbantini, an art critic from Ferrara, was quite daring. He wanted to highlight young and modern artists in contrast to the conservative choices of the Biennale.

News: Ca Pesaro stands in the building that the Duchess Felicita Bevilacqua La Masa left in her will to the city of Venice to host events supporting young artists. Since 1902, it has been home to the International Gallery of Modern Art.

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