In occasion of the exhibition RITORNO AL BAROCCO. FONTANA, LEONCILLO, MELOTTI, curated by Andrea Bacchi, ML Fine Art is pleased to present an exceptional pair of Trophies by Italian sculptor Leoncillo Leonardi.
Made in 1941 and created to decorate the interior of a public building, Palazzo della Civiltà italiana in Rome, the two Trophies should be counted among Leoncillo’s masterpieces for their virtuoso technique, chromatic qualities and inventive fantasy.
The sculptor was asked to make the two works– in late 1940 – by Cipriano Efisio Oppo, who at the time was vice President of the Ente Autonomo Esposizione Universale di Roma in the artistic initiatives connected to the organization of the Universal Exposition of Rome planned for 1942 (E42).
“A true Leoncillian creation, and an example of that “sculpture with colour” that he preaches, and of the fantastical idea of which he is so fond – that of the trees covered in armour and draperies, turned almost into theatrical characters” wrote Gio Ponti in 1948 in the magazine Domus.
