Bruno Calvani Biography
Bruno Calvani (1904-1985) was born in Mola di Bari in 1904 and in 1918 he went to Rome to attend the Academy of Fine Arts, having the opportunity to approach and frequent the artistic circles of the capital. Having moved to Milan in 1921, he was welcomed, with particular kindness, into the studio of Adolfo Wildt, who guided him in the processing of marble. After having performed his military service in Naples, in 1926 Calvani was accepted at the Venice Biennale, but renounced it as he was unable to create the bronze work accepted. He then leaves for Paris, where he begins to exhibit his sculptures. He also approaches masonry art. In 1936, together with Francis Gruber, André Fougeron, Édouard Pignon and Mario Prassinos, he founded the Nouvelle Génération group and exhibited at the first exhibition of the movement; furthermore, at the Galerie de Paris he took part for the second time in the exhibition of the Italian artists' union in Paris, with some terracottas and drawings. The Second World War caught Calvani in the French capital: the sculptor was taken to a prison camp and had his studio looted. In 1942 he returned to Italy and took up residence in Milan, which he elected as his adopted city. In the immediate post-war period, there was a succession of exhibitions, both personal and collective, both in private galleries and in official events such as the I Permanente National Exhibition of 1948, the VI and VII Quadrennial of Rome, the IX Triennale of Milan of 1951, the Venice Biennale of 1952. In 1959 the President of the Republic Giovanni Gronchi awarded him the gold medal for merit in culture and art, on the occasion of his participation in the National Art Biennale. After a career full of recognition, Calvani died in 1985 in Milan.
