A PERMANENT EXHIBITION WITHIN THE MONUMENT TO VICTORY

THE MONUMENT TO VICTORY

  • The Monument to Victory was inaugurated two years after the first stone was laid, on the anniversary of the death of Cesare Battisti, 12th July 1928.
    The architect of the monument, Marcello Piacentini (Rome 1881–1960), is one of the most important figures in Italian architecture from the first half of the twentieth century.

     

    Artists biographies

    Andreotti, Libero – Born in Pescia in Tuscany, moving back and forth between Florence, Milan, and Paris, Andreotti (1875–1933) is one of the sculptors most closely associated with the traditionalist current within Italian art championed by the critic Ugo Ojetti. In 1921, Ojetti organized Andreotti’s first one-man show at Milan’s Galeria Pesaro. At the time of his creation of the Resurgent Christ, Andreotti was increasingly committing himself to a monumental interpretation of classicism in accordance to the fascist style.

    Cadorin, Guido – Born in Venice and always close to the Secessionist milieu, Cadorin (1892–1976) participated in various Venice Biennials, where he contributed to the so-called “return to order” during the 1920s, spurred on by his interest in the Italian 15th century masters. He painted a number of rooms in the poet Gabriele d’Annunzio’s Vittoriale degli Italiani in late 1924. Subsequent to completing the crypt frescoes in Bolzano, his collaboration with the architect Piacentini will continue and include a fresco cycle for the Hotel degli Ambasciatori in Rome, realized in 1926.

    Canonica, Pietro – A traditionalist sculptor of considerable technical skill and frequenter of the circle of Ugo Ojetti, close to the regime, Canonica (1869–1959) studied at the Accademia Albertina in Turin before exhibiting his work in the major European capitals. His are the three medallions on the western entablature of the Monument to Victory. In 1929 he was named to the fascist Italian Academy. Well-regarded for his portraits of aristocrats from all the leading European courts, he also sculpted major monumental works, among them memorials to the fallen soldiers of World War I.

  • Dazzi, Arturo. After studies at the Carrara Fine Arts Academy, Dazzi (1881–1966) settles in Rome where he sculpts works with social themes in a hybrid style combining realism with impressionism. In successive years his work evolves towards a monumental classicism and will include a number of collaborations with the architect Piacentini, among them his massive complex of reliefs for the Genoa Triumphal Arch (1924–1931) and the eastern pediment of the Monument to Victory (1926–1928).

    Prini, Giovanni. Born in Genoa, where he studied at the Accademia Ligustica before moving to Rome, Prini (1877–1958) frequented peers such as Giacomo Balla, Duilio Cambellotti and Gino Severini. His first collaborations with Piacentini follow the war years and begin with the Palace of Justice in Messina (1923–1928) and the Genoa Triumphal Arch (1924–1931), continuing on until the time when he sculpted eight helmeted soldiers’ heads, and the animals’ heads on the columns, for the Monument to Victory.

    Wildt, Adolfo – (1868–1931) was one of the leading sculptors of his generation. After completing his training at the Superior School of Applied Art at Brera, Wildt came under the protective wing of the Prussian collector Franz Rose, thanks to whom sustained contacts initiate with Austro-German Secessionism that leave an enduring imprint on his artistic temperament. A talented finisher of marble surfaces who cultivated a distinctive form of expressionism with mystical overtones, Wildt becomes noted for his portraits and funereal monuments. In 1925, he joins the committee in charge of the Novecento Italiano movement. At Mussolini’s behest, he was one of the first artists chosen for membership in the fascist Italian Academy in 1929.