Florence & Tuscany Guide / Museums / The Marino Marini Museum

Craft an Artistic Path

Follow the terracotta path to the Marino Marini Museum on the Piazza San Pancrazio - 50123 Firenze. Trace an artistic path of bronze and plaster to the deconsecrated church of San Pancrazio. Let your footsteps guide you into a historical site that has been changed and re-changed to suit different professions. Walk into one of the most ancient of churches in Florence that was re-structured by Leon Battista Alberti, one of the most talented architects of the 15th century. Guiseppe Ruggeri modernized the structure with a free-standing module leaving the walls and the edifice in tact.

Being a victim of religious controversies this beautiful church was converted into a lottery center and later as a law court and then finally as a tobacco ware house. In 1808, an iron gallery was constructed which separated the nave into two floors. Interestingly enough, Alberti’s triforium, the architrave and the columns were re-constructed to transform the façade to design a portal with a neo-classical lunette.

For a while, the church was used as a military depot and then as the hands of time turned in a graceful dance, the Church of San Pancrazio became home to the collection of works of art by Marino Marini and his wife, Marina. In order to preserve the precious grace of the architecture of the church, Lorenzo Papi and Bruno Sacchi, in keeping with the wishes and style of the famous artist and sculptor, Marini, created an exhibition center with the harmony of space, an airy ambience and strategic lighting. This lovely blend has enhanced the fantastic ‘Horseman’, which had been placed at a park in Hague.

The Story of Success

Do you want to hear an endearing success story about a talented artist? Well, this is how it goes…Once upon a sensitive time, Marino Marini was born in a village called Pistoia, Italy, in 1901. Showing innate talents of a born artist, Marino was enrolled in the Florence Accademia di Belle Arti, in 1917, where he was taught painting and sculpture by famous artists and sculptors such as, Galileo Chini and Domenico Trentacoste. Trained at first in painting and drawing at the Via degli Artisti, Marino enjoyed his artistic schooling and bohemian atmosphere. Turning to terracotta as his medium to express his feelings, Marino’s first impressive sculpture was, ‘Popolo’ in the year 1929. This was a memorable year for him as he was asked by the famous Arturo Martini to move to Milan and teach at the Villa Reale in Monza. The same year, he had an exhibition in Nice along with the Novecento group and traveled to Paris for the first time in his life to win the prize for sculpture at the Exposition Universelle. Then the momentum started as he had a solo exhibition in Milan in 1932 and in 1935, he won the first prize at the Pome Quadriennale for his exhibit.

Marino married Mercedes Perazzini in 1938, and in 1940, he left his teaching profession for the higher post of Chairing the School of Sculpture at the Brera Academy till the year 1943. The war was the cause of his early retirement from this prestigious post, as his studio was totally ruined by its terrible effects. So he retired to the birthplace of his wife in the Swiss Canton of Ticino. Marino soon met up with his old friends and made new ones from Paris such as, Wotruba, Germaine Richier, Giacometti, Haller and Banninger. In the year 1944, Marino exhibited sculptures in bronze and plaster of personalities at the Kunstmuseum in Basle.

Marino returned to Milan and picked up the threads of his teaching career at Brera and re-structured his studio in Milan as soon as the war was over. When the 24th Venice Biennale was held in 1948, an entire room was given to Marino as a dedication in honor of his works of art. At this juncture, Marino formed an important life-long link with the famous Henry Moore and with Curt Valentin, an American trader and businessman who held an exhibition of Marino’s work in the year 1950, in New York. More accolades awaited him as the Accademia dei Lincei gave him the Feltrinelli prize in 1952 and later in the year 1957, the Hague City Council commissioned him to do a very big equestrian group which is reflected in a copy on display at the San Pancrazio. Marino’s work was recognized at the Brussels fair in 1958 and at the Documenta II at Kassel in 1955.

Creating a precious path

Marini exhibited all over Europe doubling his efforts at paintings that were a passion with him. And then, in 1973, the official Marino Museum was opened at the Civica Galleria d’Arte Moderna in Milan that exhibited a precious range of paintings. Munich dedicated a permanent display at the Neue Pinakothen in 1976, while in 1978, Marino’s works of sculptures and paintings were sent to Japan. Attaining the limelight, Marino’s works were set up in a documentation center in his hometown of Pistoia.

Ahead of his age, Marino infused the elements of motion and energy yet retaining the archaic style. The equestrian style appealed to him so strongly that he moulded this strong attitude into his continuous theme of ‘Horse and Rider’ in almost all of his interpretations. Marino often said his style was the “Twilight of Mankind”. Repeated with varying forms, Marino sculpted and painted his passion of horses and riders in a spectrum of museums, such as, the Nationalmus in Stockholm (1937), the Kunstmus in Gothenburg (1945), the Kunstmus in Dusseldorf (1949) and his work can be found in many private prestigious collections. Expressive and filled with reality, Marino sculpted his famous and vibrant rider almost falling off a rearing horse in his, ‘Monumental Rider’ (1957-58), which was commissioned for the Bouwgelust estate at The Hague. The same figurine is on display at the Shell Building in London.

In his foray into sculpting the essence of manhood, Marino did not forget the women behind the bravery of men. He added another aspect to women by portraying them as head priestess in his ‘Pomonu’ that is exhibited in the Ciemeentemus Museum. As a sensitive artist, Marino painted fabulous portraits of personalities such as, Curt Valentin in 1954 that is at the Kunsthalle, in Hamburg and Igor Stravinsky in 1951 that is at the Institute of Art in Minneapolis. As a unique and unusual painter and sculptor, Marino was adventurous in blending mediums in his sculptures and experimented with his bronze casting with a chisel and corrosive dyes. This is displayed in his ‘Dancer’ that is in the Stadt Mus Duisbure and the bronze ‘Bull’ in the Mus de Arte Moderna in Rio de Janeiro.

A Heritage of Contemporary Art

Like his contemporary artist friend, Marino stayed away from the politics in the world of art and its usual techniques. His creativity and skill has been recognized the world over as a contemporary artist. Watch World War II in action as the apse and the transept of the San Pancrazio come alive with Marino Marini’s expressive horsemen who are visually tired with no will to keep up with their vibrant mounts. Represented with jagged lines with no flow, the sculptor has used cardoso, a stone from Versilia as his medium with bronze. Walk along the entrance to your right and view a set of unusual paintings by Marino that he painted before he left for Milan in 1929. The sculptor using the essence of tranquility and serenity as his theme has sculpted with an aesthetic sense a groups of maidens, ‘Pomonu’ and highly sensitive horsemen who display their age in their very stance.

Marino was influenced by the Etruscan style which is evident as you walk up the stairs to the mezzanine floor which exhibits his work ranging from the ‘20s to the ‘40s. Mirroring the style of Arturo Martini, Marino’s work shows his love of the Etruscan Terracotta as against the Italian artists who preferred marble. As an interesting fact, these Etruscan terracotta fragments are still being found as archaeological discoveries today. The same floor houses Marino’s best portraits that span over an interesting range from the years 1937 to a great portrait of Oskar Kososchka in 1967. As an expressionist artist, Marino infused the portraits with humor and highlighted them with the air of sensitivity.

The best known themes besides the horse and the rider series, are the Juggler series that you can see on the top floor of the museum. The famous ‘Juggler’ cast in 1939 in bronze with highlights of color picks up the aura of Marini’s mind and his chain of thought. As you traverse to the center of the room, the eyes behold a splash of color infused into a group of dancers in plaster. Marino even sculpted with cement and plaster that is evident in his interpretations of horses and men on horses, jugglers, dancers and masks of different kinds. Marino’s talents included drawings, lithographs and prints and the most sensitive drawings, display a beautiful profile of his wife, Marina.

Though Marino Marini died in 1980 in Viareggio, he left behind a legacy of 50 years of interesting and creative art, sculpture and drawings for the future generations to learn from and enjoy. So come and view his intoxicating work and revel in his unique style at the Piazza San Pancrazio - 50123 Firenze and experience the work of a single man who stood apart from the rest. You can call: 219432 for any queries. The museum is open from 10 a. m. to 1 p. m. and is closed on Tuesdays.

Come and experience a heritage of contemporary art and craft…