Italian sculptor was born in Pistoia in 1901. He is best knows for his many vigorous sculptures of horses and horsemen, although he has created notable portrait busts, group statues, paintings and drawings. After 1955 he tended toward a more dramatic expression of form. In 1917 he enrolled in the Florence Accademia di Belle Arti where he followed courses in painting taught by Galileo Chini and sculpture by Domenico Trentacoste. These early years of artistic activity in Via degli Artist were mainly devoted to painting and drawing. Marini's first important sculpture, Popolo (in terracotta), was produced in 1929. Marini intensified his output of paintings in the mid 60s. In 1979 a documentation centre for his works wa set up in Pistoia the town in which he was born.

1901 Marino Marini was born on February 27 in Pistoia, in Tuscany. His twin sister, EgIe, became a poet. "For me Tuscany is a starting point, which is innate and is part of my being. "My discovery of Etruscan art was an extraordinary event. This is why my art lies on themes from the past, as the link between man and horse, rather than on modern subjects like the man/machine relationship." 1917 He registers at the Accademia di Belle Arti of Florence where he participates in a drawing class given by Galileo Chini: "I looked for the origins of every idea in colour," he once said, "whether it's called painting or drawing, I'm not sure."

1919
He makes his first trip to Paris where he encounters the new art trends.
1920
He is interested in painting and engraving. In some works from this period - the Virgins (Museo Marino Marini, Florence) - the influence of Piero della Francesca's painting is evident.
1922
He concentrates his efforts on sculpture; the ancient art of Pistoia and Tuscany makes a decided impact on his development.
1923
He begins the long series of exhibitions. He participates in the Rome Biennial and in a group exhibition in Livorno.
1926
He takes a studio in Florence at the base of the hill of Fiesole.

1927
He takes part in the Third International Exhibition of
Decorative Arts at Monza with several pieces.

1928 He participates in the Venice Biennial for the first time with two bronzes and takes part in the exhibition of the "Gruppo del Novecento Italiano" at the Milano Gallery with ten works including a few terracottas. The BIind Man is one of his first significant works. 1929 In this year he Ieaves Florence for Milan: "Milan is the Italian city that is most closely tied to Europe. It has the same colour as Europe, the same way of life, the same way of working. For me, to be in Milan is to live in the heart of Europe. He is called to Monza's Villa Reale art school by Arturo Martini, whom he succeeded at the teaching chair of sculpture which he holds until 1940. He exhibits with other Italian artists, including Carrà, De Chirico, Sironi, Modigliani, and Martini, at the Fine Arts Society in Nice and at the Buonaparte publishing house in Paris. His terracotta sculpture, the People, is a revelation to the critics. That same year he makes the portrait of the painter Alberto Magnelli as well as a first self-portrait in polychrome plaster.

1930
He stays in Paris where he finds many friends such as Campigli, De Chirico, and Severini, and he meets Picasso, Maillol, Braque, Laurens and Lipchitz. He takes part in an exhibition in Florence with eight paintings and nine sculptures and in the Venice Biennial with three sculptures and one painting. He creates ErsiIia, a wood sculpture that marks an important stage in his creative development.
1931
Another stay in Paris where he meets Tanguy, De Chirico, Kandinsky and Gonzàlez.
1932
The year of official recognition: he exhibits drawings and sculptures, first in Milan and then in Rome. He becomes an honorary member of the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence.
1934
During a trip to Germany he visits the Bamberg Cathedral where he has a chance to admire the equestrian statue of Henry II (l3th century). This "gothic" rider makes a deep impression on him and leads to the creation of the sculpture Idea for a Rider.

1935 He participates in the second Rome Quadrennial where he wins first prize. His sources, Etruscan and Roman art, are very evident here. He makes a second self-portrait in bronze and begins the theme of the Pomonas, the Etruscan goddess symbolizing the fertility of the earth. 1936 The first monography about him is published by Editions him is published by Editions des Chroniques du Jour (Paris), including an introduction by PauI Fierens. He participates in the twentieth Venice Biennial with nine works. He begins the Riders series during this period. 1937 He makes several trips to ltaly and Europe. During a new trip to Paris he enjoys the company of many artists: Kandinsky, Tanguy, Maillol, Picasso, Braque, Laurens, Magnelli, De Chirico... He wins the Grand Prix at the International Exhibition in Paris. A wood sculpture, the Boxer, of 1935 enters French collections.

1938
On December 14 he marries Mercedes Pedrazzini whom he calls Marina as though to underline their close ties that would unite them throughout their Iives. He participates in the Venice Biennial with two portraits.

1939
He takes part in the third Rome Quadrennial with five works and exhibits in December at the Barbaroux Gallery in Milan

. 1940 He Ieaves his teaching position at Monza to become a professor in the sculpture department at the Accademia in Turin. 1941 Marini earns the teaching chair for sculpture at the Accademia di Brera in Milan. 1942 He makes his third self-portrait in polychrome plaster. In November he exhibits a selection of drawings at the Zodiaco Gallery in Rome. His studio in Monza and his apartment in Milan are destroyed by bombing as are quite a few of his works. In December, he and his wife seek refuge at Tenero, near Locarno in Switzerland, where he continues to work

1943
He makes frequent trips to Zurich and Basel. Here he finds many artists including Giacometti, Banninger, Wotruba, Germaine Richier, and Haller. He moves closer to lithogaphy and sculpts the Pomonas, a portrait in bronze of Marina, and the famous Arcangelo (Arch.angel) that marks the inception of a series of Miracles. "The figure of the Archangel" Marino later says, "[...] greatly interested me in terms of physiognomy and even for the attitude of the body: its sadness expressed itself all over the face and body, a mournful construction, a sacrificial construction, a bountiful construction; this is why the body and not just the face interested me."
1944
He participated in the great Exhibition at the Kunstmuseum in Basel along with Wotruba and Germaine Richier.
1945
He exhibits once again with Wotruba and Germaine Richier at the Kunsthalle in Bern, and then in Zurich. He makes the bronze portrait of Germaine Richier and those in polychrome terracotta of Manuel and Ulrich Gasser that would be donated to Zurich's Kunsthaus thirty years later.
1948
They return to Milan where Marino goes back to teaching at Brera. He settles into an atelier in Piazza Mirabello where he works for the rest of his life. He makes a portrait of Carrà and one of Marina in polychrome stucco. lt is a decisive year for the artist who makes several journeys and participates in the Venice Biennial where he has an entire room to himself. He meets Henry Moore and a deep friendship binds them. He meets the most important art dealer of the period - Curt Valentin - who falls in love with his works, so much so that he acquires many of them and becomes his agent in the United
States, where he organizes many exhibitions. What's more he meets Peggy Guggenheim who buys a bronze model of the The Town's Guardian Angel, placing it in front of her homonymous museum on Venice's Grand Canal. From this year on, his painterly production increases considerably.
1949
He takes part in the exhibition "Twentieth Century talian Art" organized by Luigi Toninelli at the Museum of Modem Art in New York. This is the year in which he executes one of his major works The Town's Guardian Angel which he wouid speak of many years later: "The gentle expression of the Guggenheim's Rider is joyous... the war had just barely ended and the man on the horse, arms spread open, made you imagine that he could cry out what he was..."
1950
In his gallery, the Bulcholz GaIlery, Curt Valentin organizes the first Marini exhibition in New York with drawings, Lithographs and 28 sculptures. It runs from February 14 to March 11. The artist stays in the United States form February to June. He meets Stravinsky during this period and immediately does his portrait (a second version would be executed in 1951); he also meets Arp, Beckmann, Feininger, Dalí, and Mies van der Rohe. Kaufmann, the owner of Bear Run House, one of Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpieces, purchases an example of The Town's Guardian Angel and places it near the waterfall close to his house. Back from the United States, Marino stops in London where he visits Henry Moore. The Hanover Gallery holds an exhibition dedicated to him.
1952
He receives the international Grand Prize of Sculpture at the Venice Biennial. Again he has an exhibition room to himself where he displays twelve sculptures and six paintings. He works on six Iithographs in Paris in the atelier of Fernand Mourlot. He meets Masson, Braque, Ungaretti, and Brancusi. The Miracles completely absorb him, but he continues the series of portraits, including the bronze one of Curt Valentin (a second version would be realized in 1954).
1953
Many exhibitions take place throughout Europe: in Göteborg, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo. The same happens in the United States:
in Cincinatti and in New York at Curt Valentin's Gallery, then at the Museum of Modern Art where he takes part in the exhibition "Sculpture in the Twentieth Century". The monography edited by Umbro Apollonio is published.
1954
He wins the Grand Prize from the Lincei Academy in Rome. During the summer he and his wife move into the house she designed, the Germinaia at Forte dei Marmi. This is where Curt Valentin dies. This was a great loss for the artist who admired him and had great esteem for him. Pierre Matisse becomes Marini's new dealer in the United States. Pablo Neruda meets Marino at the Germinaia.
1955
Personal exhibitions in Germany, France (exhibition of lithographies at the Berggruen Gallery in Paris), Holland, and the United States (New York). He participates in Kassel's Documenta.
1956
Personal exhibitions in London and Los Angeles. He takes part in the international Exhibition at the Rodin Museum in Paris. Marino confronts the new theme of the Warrior.
1957
Personal exhibitions in Dusseldorf and New York.
1958
He exhibits some works together with those of Giacometti, Matisse, and Moore at the Hanover Galiery in London. The Bayerische Staatsgemaldesammlung in Munich purchases a iarge Miracle.
1959
He makes an equestrian monument in bronze for a square in The Hague in memory of the horror of the war. lt is the largest work in bronze made by the artist (6 metres high). The base bears the inscription: "We built, we destroyed, and a sad song weighed on the world." He participates in Kassel's Documenta.
1960
The Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg purchases a large Warrior. The large Miracle of 1953 is piaced in Rotterdam in memory of those who fell at war.
1961
He executes a portrait of Henry Miller at Forte dei Marmi, where he also did Henry Moore's.
1962
Zurich's Kunsthaus presents a major retrospective reuniting more than two hundred works and meets with great success. He makes the portrait of Marc Chagail and Henry Moore. Moore donates his to the National Portrait Gallery in London.
1963
He presents a few paintings at the Toninelli Gallery in Milan and a few sculptures at the Calder - Marini Exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art in Basel. In Arp's atelier, he makes the artist's portrait. Franco Russoli's monography is published.
1964
A major painting exhibition at the Museum Boymans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. He participates in Kassei's Documenta

1966
An important exhibition of sculpture, paintings, and drawings at Palazzo Venezia in Rome, curated by Giovanni Carandente.

1967 He goes to Berlin to meet with Mies van der Rohe, who is supervising the construction of the Nationalgalerie, and makes a portrait of him that was commissioned by the museum itself. 1968 He receives the highest German honour at Gottingen: membership in the Orden Pour le mérite" of science and art. Marino is very proud of this honour which had previously been conceded to only two great ltalians: Alessandro Manzoni and Giuseppe Verdi. He works mostly in stone, but painting remains one of his greatest interests: "I have always had the need to paint and I never begin a sculpture before first investigating its essence pictorially... To conceive of a form is to recognize the colour, it is the vision of colour, to paint is to enter the poetry of the fact and the fact becomes reality through the act."

1969
Exhibition "From Colour to Form" at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.
1971
Creation of the Idea for the Miracle.
1972
He becomes an honorary citizen of the City of Milan. In this year a retrospective of his works, dedicated to "Twentieth Century Personalities", is held at the Piero della Francesca research centre. Marino and Marina donate an important collection of works, sculptures (above all portraits), paintings, and drawings.
1973
The inauguration of the Museo Marino Marini within the Galleria d'Arie Moderna in Milan. At the request of the director of La Scala, Paolo Grassi, he creates the decoration and costumes for Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.
1974
Two large sculptures are donated to the Musei Vaticani in Rome: a Miracle in stone, donated by Gianni Agnelli, and a Rider in polychrome wood from the Battiato Collection.
1975
Exhibition at the Castello Sforzesco in Milan of twentyone paintings from his early years.
1976
Munich's Staatsgalerie Moderner Kunst dedicates a permanent exhibition space for paintings and sculpture to him. A retrospective of his graphic works is presented in Bavarian state museums, and then in Turin and Paris.

1977 He completes his last sculpture, a portrait of Oskar Kokoschka which he began in 1976. 1978 An itinerant exhibition of sculpture and painting in Japan's museums in Tokyo, Yamagata, Sapporo, Kobe, and Kumamoto. In the same year he gives a bronze Rider to the Museum of Modem Art in Paris. 1979 lnauguration at the Pistoia's Town Hall of a Documentation Centre dedicated to Marino Marini's works; it has a library, a photographic library, a video library, and many sculptures including a large Miracle. 1980 He dies on August 6 in Viareggio at age seventy-nine.

1988
Florence's Museo Marino Marini opens in the ancient church of San Pancrazio. Part of the sculptural and pictorial works donated to the museum come from the Marina Marini Collection.

1990
At the Vatican, in the Borgia's apartments, inauguration of the Sala delle Arti Liberali, following a considerable donation by Marina Marini.
1990
The Fondazione Marino Marini at the Palazzo del Tau opens in Pistoia and is destined to ensure the conservation and propagation of his work.

Awards

1929
Honorary Diploma
Exposiciòn lnternational de Barcelona
1933
Diploma with Silver Medal, V Triennale, Milan
1935
Sculpture Great Award, Il Quadriennale Romana, Rome
1936
Honorary Diploma, ltalian Art Exhibition, Budapest
1937
Grand Prix Diploma, Exposition lnternational des Arts, Paris
1952
Sculpture Great Award, Biennale, Venice
1954
Gold Medal of the President of the Republic. lnternational Great Award, Accademia dei Lincei, Rome
1961
Donatello Medal, Florence Honorary Membership Associazione Incisori d'italia, Turin-Milan-Rome
1962
Gold Medal, Comune di Milano
1963
"Città di Milano" Award
1964
Europa Arte 1964 Award, Ancona
1966
Ibico Reggino Award for Sculpture, Reggio Calabria Diploma from Il Biennale dell'Incisione, Comune di Padova, and from Associazione Incisori d'italia, Milan
1967
Gold Medal, Florence. Gold Medal for Citizenship, Camera di Commercio, Pistoia First-Class Diploma to artists from Scuola della Cultura e dell'Arte, Gold Medal, Education Ministry, Rome Silver Plate Biancamano Award for Sculpture, Milan Gold Medal, Vatican City
1968
First Award from Comune di Venezia, VIII Commission Biennale Incisione Italiana Contemporanea, Venice Silver Medal, Turin
1969
Medal from the Presidency of Governement in memory of Versilia
1970
Goid Medal, Vatican City Silver Medal, Vatican City
1971
Perseo d'Oro "Oscar Fiorentino", Florence
1972
"Il Cino" Award, Pistoia Gold Medal, Circolo dellaStampa, Turin Goid Medal from Cassa di Risparmio di Pistoia e Pescia, Pistoia
Fiorino d'Oro Award, Florence Silver Medal, Paris
1973
Gold Medal, Comune di Rimini Gold Medal, La Verdina, Versilia Silver Medal, Vatican City
1974
Gold Medal, Comune di Campione d'italia Gold Medal, Comune di Milano
1976
Permanent Award "Lombardia Notte per le Arti, le Scienze e la Cultura", Milan Gold Medal, Società Promotrice delle Belle Arti, Turin
1978
Bronze Medal, Tokyo Bronze Medal, Hokkaido Gold Medal, Comune di Milano Gold Medal, Città di Milano
1980
Gold Medal, Città di Firenze
1981
Gold Medal, Cassa di Risparmio di Pistoia Fiorino d'Oro Award, Comune di Firenze
1983
Gold Plate, Federnat-Amico dell'ippica Award- Gentleman d'Italia, Florence
1984
Silver Plate, Gruppo Il Veggio, Agliana
1986
Medal from Banca Toscana di Firenze Gold Medal and Plate, SKAL Club di Firenze e Toscana
1993
Bronze Medal, Chartres
1994
Silver Medal, Le Comité Vendôme, Paris Silver Medal, Paris

Acknowledgements

1932
Honorary Academician Accademia Fiorentina delle Arti e del Disegno, Florence
1934
Cavaliere dell'Ordine della Corona d'italia, Rome
1943
Correspondent Academician Reale Insigne Accademia di San Luca, Rome
1947
Correspondent Academician Accademia Clementina, Bologna
1948
Member of Académie Royale Flamingue, Bruxelles
1949
Honorary Academician Accademia Ligustica di Belle Arti, Genoa
1951
Honorary Academician Akademischen Koliegiums, Munchen
1952
Grande Ufficiale al merito della Repubblica Italiana, Naples Member of Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Stockholm
1957
National Academician Accademia Nazionale di San Luca, Rome
1958
Correspondent Academician Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste, Munchen
1959
Actual Member Accademia Latinitati Excoiendae, Rome Correspondent Academician Academia Nacional de Beilas Artes, Buenos Aires
1960
Associated Academician Accademia Tiberina, Rome
1961
Pontificia Insigne Accademia Artistica dei Virtuosi al Pantheon, Rome
1962
Honorary Academician Accademia de "I 500,', Roma Honorary Academician Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Nürnberg
1965
Honorary Artist Member Associazione incisori d'Italia, Turin-Milan-Rome
1966
Member of Istituto Accademico di Roma, Rome
1967
Honorary Academician Accademia Clementina, Bologna
1968
Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York Honorary Member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters, New York Honorary Academician Accademia Pistoiese del Ceppo, Pistoia Mitglied der Orden pour le Mérite für Wissenschaften und Künste, Göttingen Knight of Mark Twain Kirkwood Mo., U.S.A.
1969
Honorary Member Brigata del Leoncino, Pistoia
1970
Honorary Member Unione Internazionale della Pace, Turin
1971
Honorary Academician Accademia Universale "Guglielmo Marconi", Rome Centro Operatori fiorentini Acknowledgement, Attività turistiche per il Settore delle Arti Figurative, Florence
1972
Honorary Citizenship Città di Milano, Milan
1974
Member of the Sculpture Section, Académie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts du Belgique, Brusses Cavaliere di Gran Croce dell'Ordine al Merito della Repubblica italiana, Rome
1975
Acknowledment of Sculptor Marino Marini, Citizen/Artist from Pistoia
1976
Actual Academician Accademia Nazionale Luigi Cherubini di Musica, Lettere ed Arti, Florence
1978
Honorary Member Accademia Internazionale d'Arte Moderna, Rome Member of Albo d'Oro dei Senato Accademico, Rome Member of Akademie der Künste der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, Berlin Member of Ordine al Merito Bavarese, Munchen
1979
Foreign Honorary Member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Member of Accademia della Chionchina, Pistoia Acknowledgement from Japanese Government, Konju Hosho Honorary Citizenship from Città di Firenze, Florence
1980
Honorary Citizenship from Città di Forte dei Marmi
1993
Honorary Member of Brera (in memory), Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan