Giacomo Manzù

Private Collection, Florida (acquired circa 1990)

The cardinal became a dominant theme in Manzù’s post-war work and was inspired by church dignitaries whom the artist often encountered on the streets in his native Bergamo.  When depicting this subject, the Cardinale, is always portrayed as a stoic clergyman draped in his liturgical vestments and wearing his prominent mitre.  The figure resembles an architectural structure in its angularity and rigidity of form, and conveys the imposing presence of this leading member of the Catholic Church.  For Manzù, however, these sculptures did not have a deeply religious or mystical significance; it was rather their visual impression, with their impressive garments, which became a major source of inspiration for the artist. 

Discussing the Cardinale series, John Rewald wrote, “The first drawings 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 modeling and generously draped folds.  The massiveness of the volume is stressed by the economy of lines and the simplicity of plastic means" (John Rewald, Giacomo Manzù. Greenwich, 1966, p. 59).

Fig. 1, Giacomo Manzù working on another version of the Cardinale.