Raffaello Romanelli 1856-1928 Dancing Fauns circa 1900

white carved marble, signed RAF. ROMANELLI, on pedestals.

Related literature: Alphonso Panzetta vol. 1, p. 326; Vicario vol. 2, pp. 900-901

The son of Pasquale Romanelli, Raffaello is best remembered as one of the foremost Italian monumental sculptors of his generation.  He studied under his father (a pupil of Lorenzo Bartolini) and August Rivalta at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, moving to Rome briefly in 1880.  During the 1890s he was fully employed on numerous funerary and public monuments in Florence, including those to Donatello (Chiesa Medicea di San Lorenzo) and Cellini on the Ponte Vecchio.  International fame was secured by high profile commissions such as the Demidoff monument in Kiev and the General Martin monument in Caracas, as well as through his successive showings at the International Exhibitions.  He was eventually appointed Professor of the Accademia where he promoted his naturalistic style and was followed by his son Romano, who had an equally successful career as a sculptor.