Marini, Marino (1901–1980)

Italian sculptor and graphic artist. Much of his work is an exploration of the horse-and-rider theme, the forms being gradually reduced to an elemental simplicity. There are examples of his Horse and Rider in many galleries, including the Tate, London, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis.

Influenced by Roman and Etruscan sculpture, and working mostly in bronze, Marini developed a style characterized by spare, simplified forms and rough surfaces. He modelled some female nudes and fine portraits, among them a bust of the composer Igor Stravinsky 1950 (Minneapolis Institute of Arts).

Marini was born in Pistoia, Tuscany, studied painting and sculpture in Florence, and was later professor of sculpture at Milan.