"alberto Sparapani" Signed Terracotta Female Nude Sculpture

TERRACOTTA SCULPTURE DEPICTING A FEMALE NUDE, WORK BY THE SCULPTOR "ALBERTO SPARAPANI" SIGNED. Good condition, small lack in the hand / (see photo) dimensions L 50 cm, h 40 cm, d 26 cm Alberto Sparapani was born in Casale Marittimo in the province of Pisa on 14 May 1911. He attended the Art Institute of Volterra under the teaching of Giulio Caluri. In 1940, after moving to Carrara, he married Vittoria, his beloved lifelong companion. In those years Sparapani's activity was divided between the laboratory and the atelier located in Avenza, in via Farini, in front of the Tower of Castruccio Castracani and attendance at the Free School of the Nude at the Academy of Fine Arts in Carrara. His many group exhibitions began in 1953: the Interprovincial Exhibitions of the Academy of Fine Arts in Carrara, the Carrara Biennials, the European Quadrennials, the National Art and Sport Exhibitions in Florence, the International Biennials in Trieste, the National Bronze and Sculpture Exhibitions in Genoa, exhibitions at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence and at the Circolo degli Artisti-Casa di Dante in Florence, and the Tuscan Art/Sculpture Biennials in Arezzo. He also participated in numerous national and international competitions, often winning them. In 1960, he won first prize in the competition for the sculptural group for Lorenzo Viani's tomb, which he executed in marble the following year. He is represented in several Italian museums; his works are preserved in Florence, in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore and in the church of San Michele degli Scalzi in Orticaia in the province of Pisa. Numerous works are in private collections and numerous monuments are located in Italy, the most impressive of which include the Monument to the Boys of '99 in Bassano del Grappa (1973) and the Monument to the Quarryman in Colonnata (1983). In his adopted hometown (Avenza), which he deeply loved, he actively participated in the artistic and cultural life by promoting initiatives and events involving artists from various Italian cities. Under the impetus of Sparapani, Avenza hosted its 1st Biennial of Contemporary Sacred Art in 1971, a tribute to the memory of Lorenzo Viani, and the 1st International Biennial of Avenza in 1984. In 1961, he was awarded the honor of "Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic," and in 2001, he received the President of the Republic's Great Silver Medal for his great achievements in the field of art.