Born and raised in Palermo, Nicolini studied under Vincenzo Ragusa at the Museo Artistico Industriale. He later moved to Rome to work for Giulio Monteverde, where he won the National prize with his relief of
Le Marie al Sepolcro and the sculptures
La Meditazione and
Il risveglio. His oeuvre ranges from literary to historical and mythological subjects. He is mostly known for his sculptures in Rome, such as
La Calabria (1907) and
Trionfo Politico (1911). In London, his work
Credi a me is kept at the Tate Gallery. Nicolini exhibited a work titled 'Satiro e Ninfa' in San Francisco in 1915, which may refer to the present lot (
op. cit. p. 652).
RELATED LITERATURE
A. Panzetta, Nuovo Dizionario degli Scultori Italiani dell’Ottocento e del Primo Novecento, vol. 2, p. 651-652.