Pericle Fazzini
Pericle Fazzini (4 May 1913 – 4 December 1987) was an Italian sculptor and painter renowned for his dynamic bronze works that often conveyed movement and human form in expressive, modernist styles.[1][2] Born in Grottammare and trained initially in his father's wood-carving workshop before studying at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome, Fazzini emerged as a key figure in the Roman School, producing sculptures characterized by sinuous energy and thematic depth.[1] His career included prestigious commissions and exhibitions, such as participation in the Venice Biennale and a 1951 retrospective at Palazzo Barberini.[1] Fazzini's most celebrated achievement is the monumental Resurrection (1970–1977), a bronze sculpture commissioned by Pope Paul VI for the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall, measuring approximately 20 by 7 by 3 meters and depicting Christ rising serenely from a crater evoking nuclear devastation amid olive trees of Gethsemane, symbolizing emergence from apocalypse.[3][2] The work, inaugurated in 1977 for the Pope's eightieth birthday after seven years of labor including a polystyrene prototype, has drawn acclaim for its bold spirituality but also criticism for its stark, unsettling imagery interpreted by some as overly dramatic or ominous.[3][4] Other significant pieces include the Monument to the Resistance (1956) in Ancona and the bronze Sibyl at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, for which he received the Saint Vincent Prize in 1949, alongside awards like the Premio dell’Accademia d’Italia in 1942.[1][2] Fazzini taught at institutions including the Accademia di Brera in Milan and continued creating until his death in Rome, leaving a legacy of large-scale public monuments blending classical influences with contemporary existential themes.[1][2]