MARINI, MARINO

born Feb. 27, 1901, Pistoia, Italy died Aug. 6, 1980, Viareggio Italian artist who was instrumental in the revival of the art of portrait sculpture in Italy during the first half of the 20th century. At the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, Marini immersed himself in the study of ancient Italian sculpture, and his sensitivity to form and surface owes much to Etruscan and Roman works. The inner tension of his bold, straining figures, however, reflects the influence of German Gothic sculpture. Fate and the human capacity for self-destruction are his pervasive themes; most of his works are in bronze. Marini consistently refined and penetrated two major imagesthe earthbound woman and the horse and riderand in each case the differences between individual pieces can be extremely subtle. The Dancer series of the 1940s and '50s is especially notable for the enrichment of the surface with chisel work and corrosive dyes. Through the surfaces of his elementary forms, Marini sought to reveal the spiritual substratum of his subjects; the portrait of Igor Stravinsky (1950) is a striking example. His later work is characterized by a heightened, almost architectural sense of scale and an increased sensitivity to planes at the expense of volume. Marini was professor of sculpture at the Accademia Brera in Milan from 1940 until his retirement in 1970. He was also known for his graphic works.