Aviator Antonio Locatelli

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Photo by John Bentham.
Aviator Antonio Locatelli
Photo by John Bentham.
Artist/Maker (Italian, 1893 - 1952)
Date1934
MediumBronze
DimensionsOverall: 25 3/4 in. × 10 in. × 9 in. (65.4 × 25.4 × 22.9 cm) Base: 6 1/2 × 6 1/2 × 6 1/2 in. (16.5 × 16.5 × 16.5 cm)
Credit LineGift of Brent G. Orcutt, Class of 1926
Object number1985.15
On view
DescriptionSculptor Fausta Vittoria Mengarini was raised in her family’s Roman villa, where her father Guglielmo Mengarini often hosted salons attended by prominent artists and intellectuals. Mengarini was only eighteen when she began to receive praise and acclaim for her sculptures. She is primarily known for her portrait busts, which are often compared to works of classical Roman sculpture. In the words of Ada Rainey, Mengarini’s portraits have the “characteristics of the old Roman portraits with something added.” Her most famous works include a portrait bust of Benito Mussolini and various high-ranking members of his regime (she was the only artist commissioned by Mussolini to fashion a bust in his likeness). This bronze portrait depicts Antonio Locatelli (1895–1936), an Italian aviator and legislator of the National Fascist Party. Mengarini’s opinion of Mussolini’s fascist dictatorship is unknown, but her connection to the autocrat and his regime cannot—and should not—be ignored.

Additional Details

Exhibition History 2015
Clinton, NY. Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College. "Seek and Find," September 1, 2015 - ongoing (no cat., brochure).
Provenance 1985: Hamilton College (Fred L. Emerson Gallery), by gift of Brent G. Orcutt;
c. 1985: Brent G. Orcutt, by purchase from artist's estate.
Signature Signed and dated by incision along right shoulder of bust: FAUSTA-VITTORIA / MENGARINI - ROMA 1934
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