Acrobats with horse, 1960

Marino Marini   Master Artists

Marino Marini is one of the most prominent Italian sculptors and painters of the 20th century, famous for his expressive depictions of horsemen, Pomona (nude female figures), and circus figures. Born in Pistoia, Tuscany, he trained at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence in 1917, where he studied painting with Galileo Chini and sculpture with Domenico Trentacoste. His academic training, enriched by Etruscan, Italian Renaissance, and modern art influences, led him to develop a unique style that blends formal power and emotional charge.

In 1929, Marini joined the Scuola d'Arte of the Villa Reale in Monza, invited by Arturo Martini, whom he later succeeded as professor of sculpture. In 1940, he was appointed to the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan, where he taught until the end of his career. His work evolved over the decades, his horsemen becoming increasingly tense, almost tragic, symbolizing the imbalances of modern man in the face of a changing world.

Among his most iconic sculptures, The Angel of the City, exhibited in front of the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice, perfectly embodies the expressiveness of his artistic language. Marini was also a prolific painter and engraver, translating his favorite motifs with a colorful, often geometric approach.

His talent was internationally recognized: he exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1944, the Venice Biennale in 1948, and the Kunsthaus Zurich in 1962. He received numerous awards, including the Grand Prix for sculpture at the Venice Biennale in 1952 and the Feltrinelli Prize from the Accademia dei Lincei in 1954.

His work is now housed in major international collections, as well as in two museums dedicated to him: the Museo Marino Marini in Florence and the Pistoia Museum. Marino Marini died in 1980 in Viareggio, leaving behind a dense and timeless body of work that continues to influence contemporary sculpture.