Allegory of Spring

Member of an old Carrarese dynasty of sculptors, Lazzerini entered the Carrara Accademia di Belle Arti in 1848 and studied under Ferdinando Pelliccia (1808–1892). In 1853, his marble relief Patroclus Slaying Sarpedon won him a scholarship to Rome, enabling him to study in the workshop of the celebrated sculptor, Pietrò Tenerani (d.1869). Lazzerini soon thereafter returned to Carrara to work in the family studio in the Corso Rosselli, eventually taking it over after the death of his half-brother, Alessandro, in 1862. The strong Neoclassical influence of Tenerani and, in turn, of Tenerani's own mentors, Bartolini (d.1850) and Thorvaldsen (d.1844), can be clearly seen in Lazzerini's work, which included a wide range of subjects for his own works, as well as developing compositions for other Italian and foreign sculptors. His long career culminated in his appointment as Director of the Carrara Academy from 1889 to 1893 and Honorary Professor of the latter in 1894.