Emilio Greco


Emilio Greco was an Italian sculptor, engraver and medallist. He is best known for his monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world in Museums - Tate Modern, Hermitage, Puskin Museum, GNAM, Hirshhorn Museum, Hakone Open-Air Museum, Museu Coleção Berardo, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Kröller-Müller-Museum, Storm King Art Center, Hawke's Bay Museum, Museo Novecento - and public works of art in London, Rome, Tokyo, Osaka, Orvieto, Sendai, Tarquinia, Vatican, Antwerp and Marl/Germany.

Life

He moved to Rome. He was drafted and served in Albania.
Beginning in 1947, he had a studio in Villa Massimo. In 1958, he had a solo show at the Palazzo Barberini, and in 1959 a solo show at the Stadtische Galerie, Munich.
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.

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, the monumental doors for Orvieto Cathedral, 1962-64, and Nereid, 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. La grande bagnante won the sculpture prize at the 18th Venice Biennale. 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.

Selected works