Emilio Greco

Emilio Greco (11 October 1913 in Catania, Sicily – 5 April 1995) was an Italian sculptor, engraver, medallist,[1] writer and poet. He is best known for his monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world in Museums - Tate Modern (London), Hermitage (Saint Petersburg), Puskin Museum (Moscow), GNAM (Rome), Hirshhorn Museum (Washington D.C.), Hakone Open-Air Museum (Japan), Museu Coleção Berardo (Lisbon), Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (Bruxelles), Kröller-Müller-Museum (Otterlo), Storm King Art Center (New Windsor, NY), Hawke's Bay Museum (New Zealand), Museo Novecento (Florence) - and public works of art in London, Rome, Tokyo, Osaka, Orvieto, Sendai, Tarquinia, Vatican, Antwerp and Marl/Germany.

Emilio Greco
Born(1913-10-11)11 October 1913
Catania, Sicily
Died5 April 1995(1995-04-05) (aged 81)
Rome
NationalityItalian
Known forsculpture

Life
Laura, bronze sculpture by Emilio Greco, 1973, Hiroshima Museum of Art

Greco was born in Catania. In his early twenties he moved to Rome where he was drafted in the army and served in Albania. At the end of World War II, he had a studio in Villa Massimo in 1947. In 1958, he had a solo show at the Palazzo Barberini, and in 1959 a solo show at the Stadtische Galerie, Munich.[2] His most important exhibitions: in 1961 the Musée Rodin in Paris, and a one-man show at the Shirokjia Foundation in Tokyo; 1962 Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris; 1963 Fondaçao Calouste Goubelkian, Lisbon, and Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome; 1965 "XXIV Biennale Nazionale d'Arte" Milan; 1966 National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne and National Gallery of South Australia; 1970 Palazzo dei Diamanti, Ferrara; 1971 a one-man show at the "Italienische Kulterinstitut" in Vienna, repeated at the Musée Rodin in Paris; 1972 Gendai Chokokusenta in Osaka, then to the Modern Art Museums of Kobe, to Yamaguchi, Hiroshima, Kyoto and Mitsukoshi. In 1991 the Museo Emilio Greco was inaugurated in Orvieto at the Palazzo Soliano. It contains his principal works. Since July 1992 the Museo Nazionale d'Abruzzo of L'Aquila has a room dedicated to Greco. In 2013 the Estorick Collection in London, Palazzo Braschi Museum in Rome and Fondazione Carichieti in Chieti, at Palazzo de’ Mayo, organised a solo exhibition to mark the centenary of Emilio Greco's birth.

Emilio Greco died in Rome, Italy.[3]

Works

Establishing an international reputation, Greco went on to exhibit extensively and also received very important commissions during his career. His notable works include Monument to Pinocchio, 1953, at Collodi,[4] the monumental doors for Orvieto Cathedral, 1962-64, and Nereid (Crouching Figure No.4), 1973.

The drawings for his Pinocchio are in the collection of the Tate Gallery. Throughout his career, his sculptures tended to be refined, with elongated forms in the Italian Mannerist tradition.[5] La grande bagnante ("Large Bather", 1956) won the sculpture prize at the 18th Venice Biennale.[6] Laura, 1973, is a typical example of his mature sculpture. A major work, “Nereid”, is also on permanent public display in Carlos Place, Mayfair, London. His work was also part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1948 Summer Olympics.[7]

Literary activity

Greco's collection of short stories and verse "Lo Jonio Corrusco Di Vento" with his own illustrations was published in 1980.[8]

Anna by Emilio Greco, 1954, Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Selected works
  • Seated wrestler, 1947.
  • Monument to Pinocchio, 1953.
  • Anna, 1954
  • Large Bather No. 1, Bronze, 1956, Tate.
  • Bather No. 2, 1956–57.
  • "Estrellita", Bronze, 1972, Museo Greco, Orvieto.
  • Laura, Bronze, 1973, Hiroshima Museum of Art.
  • Nereid (Crouching Figure No.4), 1973.
  • Bullfight, 1979.

References
  1. Emilio Greco 1913–1995 Tate, 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013. Archived here.
  2. http://www.museomodo.it/en/emilio_greco_notes_on_his_life.html
  3. Emilio Greco in: britannica.com, retrieved 6 March 2014.
  4. "Parco di Pinocchio: La Fata e Pinocchio" (in Italian). Site web of Pinocchio Park. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  5. Emilio Greco in www.britannica.com
  6. Gino Moliterno (ed.). Encyclopedia of contemporary italian culture. Routledge, 2002. ISBN 1134758766.
  7. "Emilio Greco". Olympedia. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  8. Emilio Greco "Lo Jonio Corrusco Di Vento" - Apsa, Rome 1980
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