“As in love, in art we cannot explain everything. Certain parts remain in the bright shadow of the mystery”
The Italian painter and sculptor Marino Marini (1901-1980) is known for his equestrian scenes and sculptures, often featuring a man with outstretched arms on a horse. In his work, Marini was inspired by Etruscan art, with its archaic and stylistic forms. Furthermore, he was influenced by the Italian sculptor Arturo Martini, who he succeeded as professor at the Scuola d’Arte di Villa Reale in Monza, in 1929.
In 1944 Marini participated in the Twentieth-Century Italian Art show in the MOMA in New York. During his life, retrospective exhibitions took place in Kunsthaus Zürich and the Palazzo Venezia in Rome (1962 and 1966). Currently his work is to be found in important collections, such as the Peggy Guggenheim and Tate Collection, and the Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden in Washington DC. In 2010, a ‘Cavaliere’ by Marini was auctioned for a record prize of USD 7,2 million.