Alfredo Pina (Italian, 1883-1966)

A Bronze Bust of Beethoven

Details

Alfredo Pina (Italian, 1883-1966)
A Bronze Bust of Beethoven
inscribed 'A. Pina' and 'cire perdue'
26in. (66.1cm.) high, including black marble base, rich black patina

Literature

G. de Pawlowski, Alfredo Pina, Paris, 1929, p. XXIII, pl. 36
I. Wardropper and F. Licht, Chiseled with a Brush: Italian Sculpture, 1860-1925, from the Gilgore Collections, Chicago, 1994, pp. 125-127, cat. no. 32

Lot Essay

Alfredo Pina studied at the Accademia di Brera and in 1906 won the Gran Premio Nazionale for sculpture. He moved to Paris before the First World War, where he was influenced by the work of Rodin and Bourdelle. After the war, with the support of the founder Valsuani, he exhibited regularly in Paris. Pina exhibited his Beethoven at the Venice Biennale of 1920. As with his portraits of Victor Hugo and Tolstoy, Pina, making use of his impressionist stroke, imbued his Beethoven with a tense and dramatic genius.