Marino Marini (1901–1980), one of Italy's foremost 20th-century sculptors, revitalized figurative sculpture by reinterpreting classical motifs through modernist lenses, infusing ancient archetypes with contemporary anxiety and existential tension.
Born in Pistoia, Tuscany, Marini initially studied painting at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, turning decisively to sculpture around 1922 under the influence of Etruscan art and Arturo Martini. He taught at Monza's Scuola d’Arte (1929–1940) and later at Milan's Brera Academy (1940–1970), while traveling extensively to Paris and Switzerland, befriending artists like Giacometti, Richier, and de Chirico.
Marini distilled his oeuvre to two enduring themes: the voluptuous female nude (evoking archaic fertility figures like Pomona) and, most iconically, the horse and rider. Drawing on Etruscan and Roman precedents, he subverted the triumphant equestrian monument—traditional symbol of heroic control—into a poignant emblem of modern fragility. Early riders appear balanced and exultant, but postwar works increasingly depict rearing, chaotic horses and faltering, arms-outstretched riders, reflecting nuclear dread, lost mastery, and the dissolution of humanist ideals.
His textured bronzes, often scarred and patinated, convey inner psychological drama. Also renowned for expressive portraits (e.g., Stravinsky) and later abstractions, Marini earned the Venice Biennale Grand Prize for Sculpture (1952) and international retrospectives. His mythic yet tormented figures bridge classical heritage and modernist pessimism, profoundly influencing postwar European sculpture and affirming the enduring power of the human form amid crisis.