Renato Signorini

His only pupil and assistant ("The Argus", Fremont California, Thursday 5 January 1967, p. 11) was the American medalist Elizabeth Jones (Montclair, USA, 1934).

He was a member of the Academy of the Mediterranean, as reported in the Archives "Giovanni Alliata di Montereale", the historical archives of the Italian House of representatives, and he was adviser to the sculpture section, in the "Movimento della pittura di piccolo formato", of which he was part and with which he exhibited his smallest works. He was also in the advisory board in the AIAM, Associazione Italiana dell’Arte della Medaglia (Italian Association of the Art of the Medal), from the beginning of its establishment, in 1963.

In 1948 he also participated in Rome V Quadrennial Exhibition – at the National Gallery of Modern Art – with his "Portrait of Ms Lever". He exhibited at several art galleries, in Italy and abroad, among which: Galleria Giosi, Rome (1954); in the Galleria Montenapoleone, Milan (1955); O’Hana Gallery, London (1956); Sagittarius Art Gallery, New York, and its branch in Rome (1957). In 1958 he exhibited in Palm Springs, at the Venetian Room of the Tennis Club (Desert Sun, December 2, 1958) and in 1959 at the Pasadena Museum (San Martino Tribune, April 16, 1959).

A major event took place in 1957, when 45 of his works were exhibited at Tiffany & Co., 727 5th Avenue, New York. Among them, the portraits of: Pope Pius XII; Clare Boothe Luce (1903-1987), ambassador of the United States to Italy in the 50s; Princess Isabelle Colonna; Audrey Hepburn; Queen Elizabeth II (New York Times, 9 October 1957). The works on display also included a small bust of Empress Soraya, a mantel designed for the Tokyo opera season, a Chiang Kai-shek commemorative medal, more than 10 drawings. The opening ceremony was held by the Italian Consul General in New York, baron Carlo De Ferrariis Salzano (Pacific Stars and Stripes, 10 October 1957, p. 9). The introduction of the catalogue was by the writer James Albert Michener (New York 1907 – Austin 1977).

Among the famous characters portrayed by Signorini, it is worth mentioning Pope Pius XII, whose portrait in gold and gems is currently kept in the Vatican City, as declared by the artist himself in his personal file now kept at the "Fondazione La Quadriennale di Roma"; Sophia Loren; Grace Kelly; Soraya, the second wife of the last Shah of Persia; Pope John XXIII; Cardinal Ernesto Ruffini ("This Week Magazine", The Salt Lake Tribune, 12 August 1956).

He carved a commemorative medal, among others, to celebrate the IV centenary of the foundation of the city of São Paulo in Brazil in 1954, the golden medal issued by the Italian Institute of Numismatics on the occasion of Rome Olympic Games in 1960, and the commemorative medal on the occasion of the Paris "Exhibition of Italian Medal" in 1965. He also sculpted medium-size bas-reliefs depicting religious subjects and small madonnas, besides sculptures of animals.

In November 1948 he took part in the "Great Exhibition of Italian Art" in Pretoria, as reported by the artist himself in his personal file kept at the Fondazione La Quadriennale di Roma.

In 1945 he sculpted a bust in Carrara marble (cm. 80 x 70 x 35) portraying Filippo De Grenet [it], a victim of the Fosse Ardeatine massacre by the German occupation troops in Rome. The work is currently located in the "Sala delle Galere" at Palazzo Chigi in Rome.

Signorini’s career started in 1937, as declared by the artist himself in his personal file now kept at the "Fondazione La Quadriennale di Roma". He was the pupil of the sculptor Aurelio Mistruzzi [it] in the "Scuola dell'Arte della Medaglia", inside the Mint of Rome.

On 11 September 1930 he married the Sicilian writer Livia De Stefani, daughter of a family of landowners, with whom he had three children. He died from leukemia in Rome on 30 December 1966.

He is not to be confused with the homonymous mosaicist from Ravenna, Renato Signorini (1908-1999).

Renato Signorini (Asmara, 29 August 1902 – Rome, 30 December 1966) was an Italian sculptor, painter and medalist.