Libero Andreotti
Libero Andreotti
Libero Andreotti was born in Pescia on 15th June 1875. He worked as a blacksmith until the age of seventeen, when he moved to Lucca and met Giovanni Pascoli who introduced him to art. With the support of his Uncle he found a job at the publisher Sandron in Palermo as illustrator of the socialist weekly ‘la Battaglia’. In 1899, disappointed with his environment, he returned to Florence where he worked as a typographer. Libero Andreotti arrived to sculpture relatively late, it wasn’t until 1902 when he was encouraged by friends Galileo Chini, Oscar Ghiglia and Adolfo De Carolis to enter into this area. It was shortly after this time that he moved to Milan where he met Vittore Grubicy, who noticed his talent and took him to participate at the seventh International Exhibition of Art at the Biennale di Venezia. In 1906, in Milan, he joined the group of the divisionisti. From 1907 to 1914 he lived in Paris where he was influenced by Bourdelle and J. Bernard. In 1911 he held a personal exhibition at the Bernheim Jeune gallery, achieving considerable success. Following the outbreak of the First World War he had to return to Italy. Once back in his homeland his research moved into the monumental, referencing Romanesque sculpture and fifteenth-century Florence. Works belonging to this period include the war memorials of Roncade (1922) and Saronno (1924); the Pieta and the reliefs in the Chapel of the Italian Mother in Santa Croce in Florence (1924-1925); the risen Christ in the Victory monument in Bolzano (1928). He died in Florence on 4th April 1933.