Bronze Bust Alfred Pina (1887-1996)

Lost wax casting for this bronze bust, with refined features. Signed on the side of the base A.Pina. Beautiful black patina. Alfred Pina (1887-1996) Italian sculptor trained at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, he won the Grand National Prize for Sculpture in Italy in 1904, equivalent to the Prix de Rome in France. He continued his training in Rome and moved to Paris in 1911 where he exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français from 1911 to 1914. Auguste Rodin noticed Pina's qualities and suggested that he join his workshop, he would assist the Master until his death in 1917. After living for a while in Montpellier during the 1914-18 war, he set up his workshop in Paris next to that of the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle. A specialist in portraits and busts, he met with success, confirmed by numerous commissions and a major exhibition dedicated to him at the Galerie Allard in 1920. He won the universal competition launched in Italy in 1921 on the occasion of the 6th centenary of Dante's death, a monumental work which was destroyed during the Second World War. he took French nationality and divided his existence between his property acquired in Nièvre and his Parisian workshop. Works can be found in numerous French (Paris, Montpellier) and Italian (Rome, Milan, Venice) collections and museums.