Rodolfo Zilli

Rodolfo Zillis bust by Rudolf Palgen in Echternach

Rodolfo (Rudolf) Zilli (born November 29, 1890 in Nimis , † July 22, 1976 in Lannach ) was an Italian sculptor and painter .

Life

As a child he had to leave his home village of Nimis in the Italian north-eastern region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia , because his father, a simple and humble chiseler, had to emigrate. In Germany he attended the Academy of the Arts in Munich under the direction of the Masters Wurba, which at that time had a particularly good reputation and high prestige. Very early on he made a name for himself for his talent, his methodological seriousness and his commitment to studying, so that he soon received his first awards.

During the war he was " Bersagliere " in the 11th regiment of this Italian troop and stood out in particular during the well-known Libyan battles - for this he was awarded the Medal of Bravery and the Blue Ribbon for his special merits.

Later he made various trips to Italy, France, Greece and Africa - the stays in Greece, Tripoli and Benghazi in particular gave the artist the opportunity to make ancient Greek and Roman art his own and to interpret it in his own personal way. Those experiences were the most decisive for the development of his taste and style, and it is precisely this pure beauty, this extreme perfection and this humanity, thought through to the smallest detail, that he will stick to throughout his entire life as an artist.

After a stay in Paris he moved to Graz , where he lived all his life. Among other things, he received honorary citizenship from the city of Graz.

The artist worked in the nearby Lannach Castle near Graz. Zilli distinguished himself in particular for his portraits, which appear almost 'traced through' or 'drawn through', and for the memorable effectiveness of his drawing and for the production of his powerful and powerful ancient Roman medals, from which a pure realism emerges that is neither academic still evasive, neither cool nor distant, but rather is a mirror of a unique artist personality - one who has long thought about man and nature and is refined by its interplay of lyrical vibration and a high plastic vitality. The material is shaped by his hands with a secure and powerful cut. His style is very symbolic in his larger, most impressive and figurative works, but each work is in and of itself perfect and actually a unit for itself - each preserves its own distinctive individuality and blends harmoniously into a larger whole.

The rhythmic play of his figuration, the naturalness of his works and the pronounced plasticity - where the artist skilfully moves from one level to the other, without wanting to awaken exhibitionistic or astounding impressions and without baroque-like “view-building” - consistently adheres to a true one and prudent transcription of the aesthetic rules of the classical world, which in the meantime has become, so to speak, a “custom of life”: All of this made the master extremely valued and admired in all educated, secular and ecclesiastical circles.

Zilli's production of sculptures and monumental works is very rich and diverse: the works - which were commissioned by public institutions and offices - are currently exhibited in various European museums. His representations of religious art and his medal engravings of famous European personalities are very numerous. Austrian, Italian, German, Belgian, Luxembourgish television and various radio stations have reported a great deal about his impressive art. In October 1967 Zilli was in private audience with Pope Paul VI. receive. He was awarded the Italian title “Commendatore di San Silvestro ” and the Austrian state gave him the Great Star of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria for Science and the Arts. The Luxembourg Post issued 3 “Zilli” special stamps with the image of Robert Schuman, Gaetano Martino, PH Spaak and “Europa”, which were also embossed as medal engravings. He was a member of the Academy of Sciences, Literature and Arts of Udine, Milan and Rome. He received the title “ Commendatore della Repubblica ” from the Italian state - he was also awarded the famous Friulian price “Epifania” and at the same time the old traditional title “Cavaliere del Friuli” associated with it. He also received the Medal of Honor of the City of Graz, the Golden Styrian Medal and the "Lion d'oro 1975".

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His extremely rich production includes the busts of Patriarch Urbani , of Pope John XXIII. , the model of Beppino Sarto - the later Pope Pius X - as well as a bronze bas-relief by Robert Schuman , which is located today at Schumann's grave in Metz, the bronze bust of the famous Dante scientist Rudolf Palgen , the bas-relief by Gaetano Martino and the Bas-relief by Hans Furler .

Zilli was working on the monumental work of the “Great Europeans”, which was to be part of one of his grandiose cycles when he died.

Particularly noteworthy is his production, inspired by Dante, which consists of around thirty sculptures and fifty large colored graphics: here the artist - not bound to any specific celebrating purpose - gives a grandiose selection of his lyrical streak and the originality of his language, which is inspired by the Hellenistic art and inspired by modern impressionism, embodied Dante's ideal world.

The artist also depicted some scenes by Dante, especially some from the Inferno. He also worked on a collection of works on Genesis and the Apocalypse, which unfortunately remained unfinished. Most of these works of art are now in the "Zilli Museum" in Stainz Castle near Graz, which was made available by the State of Styria.

Web links

Commons : Rodolfo Zilli  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website