Italian Farpi Vignoli studied painting, sculpture and architecture at the Venturoli Academy in Bologna. He produced mainly large sculptures and reliefs. After World War II, he first devoted himself to watercolor painting but then went back to sculpture from 1950 onwards. In the 1980s and 1990s Vignoli again created sporting motifs, including bronze statues of tennis player Björn Borg and the motorcyclist Giacomo Agostini. He also created several portraits of American actors. He was involved in the planning of an architectural complex for the Art Academy of Bologna at the end of the 1950s. Vignoli had a widespread palette of art activities during his life.
Vignoli was awarded the gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics in the Art Competitions in the category Sculpturing, Statues, for his work Guidatore di Sulky (The Sulky Driver), which had already been presented at the Quadriennale in Milano the previous year. Although Arno Breker’s Decathlete was the heavy favorite, the jury finally decided in favor of the Sulky Driver because it was considered less aesthetic but more in line with the requirements of the regulations. Possibly they also wanted to oppose Hitler’s attempts to exert influence. After the Olympic Games, the sculpture was bought by the Japanese baron Morimura and is shown today in the Tokyo National Museum.
Italy