Giacomo Manzù

The theme of cardinals, inspired by church dignitaries encountered on the streets of Manzù’s native Bergamo, was a dominant subject in the artist’s œuvre. It provided him with a source of endless inspiration and experimentation: whilst some have a volumetric pyramidal shape conveying a sense of earthbound monumentality, others, like the present work, are elegant, elongated figures pointed to the heavens.

Discussing the Cardinale series, John Rewald wrote: 'The first drawing of the subject dated from 1934, the first sculpture from 1938. Between 1949 and 1950 the first large cardinal was created, and this was followed one after another by many more, sitting and standing, small, large and even more than life-size... In Manzù's hands the cardinals were transformed into compact forceful volumes enlivened by extremely tender modelling and generously draped folds. The massiveness of the volume is stressed by the economy of lines and the simplicity of plastic means' (J. Rewald, Giacomo Manzù, Greenwich, 1966, p. 59).