Borgo Museo | Sculture 1976 – 2004

Biography

Born in San Piero a Sieve in 1904, Antonio Berti was a pupil of Libero Andreotti at the Art Institute of Florence from 1921 to 1929 and made his debut as a painter at the Venice Biennale, immediately achieving some success. However, from 1934 he decided to devote himself to sculpture. He creates the statue of Ugo Foscolo, destined for the poet’s sepulchre in Santa Croce (1935). The following years were full of work and the appreciation of the critics earned him fame: Berti became the official portraitist of characters such as Count Volpi, Barbara Hutton, exponents of royal houses. Between 1938 and 1939 the artist worked on the Garbarino Monument, a large marble high relief depicting the apotheosis of work. Later he created the monument to St. Luisa di Marillac in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome (1954), that of Alcide De Gasperi in Trento (1956), the statue of Pius XII in Piazza San Lorenzo in Rome (1967) and the main altar of the Cathedral of Reggio Calabria (1965). He participates in numerous exhibitions in Italy and abroad and from 1959 to 1974 held the chair of sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, the city where he spends most of his life. In the 1970s and 1980s he still painted many portraits and received demanding commissions, including those for the monument to Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo (1975) and for the bronze part of the cathedral of Castellammare di Stabia (1983). He also exhibits in Parma, with Annigoni and Tessoni (1974) and at the Academy of Arts and Design in Florence (1975-76). His last effort dates back to 1987, with the monument to Giuseppe Mazzini in Florence. An anthology dedicated to him was held in San Piero a Sieve, his birthplace, in 1989, curated by Raffaele De Grada, Tommaso Paloscia and Domenico Viggiano. He died in Sesto Fiorentino in 1990.

Philosophy

Antonio Berti approaches art as a painter but soon falls in love with sculpture and establishes himself as a sculptor. Andreotti’s teachings have refined his virtuosity, which he undoubtedly brings back to Canova, even if Berti declares his admiration for Donatello, Jacopo della Quercia and the romantics; The references to Verrocchio are also evident: smooth surfaces, formal purity, elegance and refinement.

Artwork in Castagno

The collection of the Castagno Open Air Museum houses various maternity wards, including Antonio Berti’s Mater Amabilis. The sculpture, a high relief, depicts a mother holding her child in her arms. The woman is represented in a seated position, dressed in light clothing which, however, does not reveal any part of her body. The child is portrayed in a situation of total tranquility, protected from everything around him through the mother’s embrace, while he plays with a lock of his mother’s hair. Her face looks expressionless while the baby’s reveals how relaxed and safe he feels. The woman’s hands are disproportionate to the rest of her body and her veil falls right on the baby’s head, both signs of protection; another detail, the feet that protrude from under her long dress. In this sculpture, the artist expresses a synthesis of the unique and unmistakable relationship between mother and child, based on the sense of absolute protection and absolute love.