Ercole Drei

Ercole Drei lived and worked in Roma and Bologna for many years of his life. He was a sculptor, painter and draftsman. His work consisted of major public works commissioned by the city of Roma and small sculptures for private collectors. He concentrated on bronze statues, portraits and drawings, but his great strength was the expression of his sculptures. From 1900 he studied at the Scuola di Arte e Mestieri in Faenza and from 1904 at the Academy in Firenze with a scholarship from his home community. From this time on, he already had early success and was decorated. He served in World War I from 1915-18, but also worked as a painter.

After the war, he turned away from all modernist influences and precociously followed a monumental classicism. Beginning in 1921 he lived in the Villa Strohl-Fern in Roma until his death. From 1927-57 he was Professor of Sculpture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna. His bronze group Giuocatori di calcio (also _Calciatori = Football Players) received Honourable Mention at the 1932 Olympic Games. It was created in 1929 in the dimensions 110 x 78 x 42 cm. The illustration in the catalog of the art exhibition seems to be the plaster model.