Mrs Brigida Martini (the artist's widow), Rome
Acqꩵuꦰired from the above by the present owner in 1949

Vienna, Secession, Austellung Italienischer Plastik der Gegenwart, 1935, no. 79, illustrated in the catalogue
Turin, Salone della 'Stampa', Sculture di Arturo Martini, 1937, no. 23, illustrated in the catalogue
Venice, XXIV Biennale Internazionale d'Arte, 1948
New York, The Museum of Modern Art, Exhibition of Twentieth Century Italian Art, 1949, illustrated in the catalogue
Rome, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Arte Italiana del XX secolo da collezione americane, 1960

Orio Vergani, 'Arturo Martini, o l'ordine nel disordine', in Il Corriere della Sera, 4th November 1934, illustrated
Marziano Bernardi, 'Martini e la scultura', in La Stampa, 24th March 1937
Roberto Salvini, Scultura italiana moderna, Milan, 1961, illustrated pl. XII
Guido Perocco, Arturo Martini. Catalogo delle sculture e delle ceramiche, Treviso, 1966, no. 308, illustrated fig. 230
Gianni Vianello, Nico Stringa & Claudia Gian Ferrari, Arturo Martini. Catalogo ragionato delle sculture, Vicenza, 1998, no. 405, illustrated p. 271

Rich brown-green patina. There is an archive number inscribed in red on the rim of the back of the base. Two screw-heads affixing the bronze to the wooden base are visible. This work is in very good condition.
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Dedalo e Icaro is a unique bronze, characteristic of the sculpture of Arturo Martini, a remarkable Italian artist whose influence was pivotal to the development of Marino Marini. This can be seen in the smooth surface of the faces in this work, whose primitive features 💮evoke one of the prime concerns of twentieth century sculptors: the quest for the absolute, that is to reduce figurative sculpture to its most essential form. He was prolific in his sculptural experiments, working in a style that owes something to both Classicism and Modernism. Recent studies have predominantly placed him in the art historical tradition of classicism and 'the return to order', though the primitive, reductive aspect of his aesthetic frequently invites comparisons with Modernist artists such as Modigliani, Gauguin and Giacometti.

 

Often inspired by ancient mythology (his iconography includes depictions of Ulysses and Pegasus, amongst others), Martini in this case drew from the famous Greek myth of Icarus and Daedalus. Icarus – who attempts to escape from Crete with the help of wings made by his father Daedalus – unfortunately ignores instructions not to fly too close to the sun, thus tragically falling to his death. The result is a sculpture full of emotional intensity that once prompted Alfred Barr and James Thrall Soby to speak of its 'rude, powerful expressionism', as well as 'the sense of archaic grandeur which grew equally on primitive and mannerist sources' (A. Barr & J. Thrall Soby, quoted in G. Vianello, N. Stringa & C. Gian Ferrari, op. cit., p. 271).