30 - ALIMONDO CIAMPI (San Mauro a Signa, 1876–1939).

ALIMONDO CIAMPI (San Mauro a Signa, 1876–1939). "Female Bust." Marble. Signed. Dimensions: 48 x 38 x 32 cm. Alimondo Ciampi (whose real name was Arimondo Silvio) was a prominent Italian sculptor and medalist born in San Mauro a Signa (Florence). He is widely recognized for his emotionally charged realistic compositions, in which he masterfully combines the harmony of lines with fidelity to reality in portraits of children, female nudes, and intimate scenes from everyday life. Born into a family of farmers, he initially worked in the fields. In 1892, he moved to Florence and began as an apprentice in a marble and alabaster workshop. He later refined his technique with Antonio Bortone and at the Academy of Fine Arts under the guidance of the renowned sculptor Domenico Trentacoste. He achieved national recognition by exhibiting in five editions of the prestigious Venice Biennale between 1909 and 1924. The artist died in Florence in 1939 and is buried in the historic Cimitero delle Porte Sante. Today, the Alimondo Ciampi Sculpture Prize in Tuscany honors his historic contribution to the art of terracotta and ceramics. Ciampi worked with an enormous variety of materials, including Carrara marble, bronze, terracotta, and plaster. His work straddles a delicate line between pure realism (Italian Verismo) and profound psychological and emotional introspection. His figures of children capture the fragility and natural gestures of childhood, while his funerary monuments and public works stand out for their solemnity.