Romano Romanelli

Romano Romanelli was the son and pupil of the famous sculptor Raffaello Romanelli (1856-1928). His grandfather Pasquale (1812-87) was also a sculptor. After World War II, Romano became known for the creation of the Friezes in South Africa for the Voortrekker Monument, which he did with local artists. Raffaello, one of his sons, also became a sculptor. As early as 1928, he created a memorial for the South African General Botha.

As a navigator, Romano Romanelli traveled around the world with the Italian Navy (he studied at the Navy School), visiting the Mediterranean, North America, and Europe including the Azores and Madeira. He served as a Navy officer in various wars until World War I, including in China, Japan, Siberia, the Dutch and British East Indies, the Indian Ocean, and the Red Sea. It was not until 1909 that he turned entirely to art. His style combined the classicist style of Italy with the influences of French modernism. From 1942 he was professor of sculpture at the art academy in Firenze. Romanelli created both large scale works and smaller statues. He worked for the Fascist state as well as for Catholic churches.

Romanelli modeled two boxer statues within a few years: The Wounded Boxer (Il Pugile Ferito) was created around 1930 and is the better known version today. Based on the information in the exhibition catalog from 1936, the submitted work Pugile (Boxer) was created in 1925. Therefore, the entered work is more likely to be the Fighting Boxer (Pugile in Combattimento), which the Italian state has bought for the Foro Italico in Roma and which was shown in the Mostra del Novecento in 1929. Only a plaster version has survived in the Galleria Romanelli. The bronze version was created at the latest in 1928 for the Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro (OND), a fascist leisure and recreation organization for adults.