Davide Calandra (21 October 1856 – 8 September 1915) was an Italian sculptor and cabinet maker.

Biography

Davide Calandra was born in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

into a wealthy family. His father, besides his professional activities of lawyer and hydraulic engineer, was an

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

and a well known collector of ancient weapons. Davide's eldest brother, the writer Edoardo Calandra, was a prominent author who wrote the novel ''La bufera'', an example of historical fiction. After attending the

Liceo The Gran Teatre del Liceu (, English: Great Theatre of the Lyceum), known as ''El Liceu'', is an opera house in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Located in La Rambla, it is the oldest running theatre in Barcelona. Founded in 1837 at another loca ...

Calandra followed the art lectures of the Accademia Albertina and then joined as a volunteer the

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

where he attained the military rank of '' Sottotenente'' (

Sub-Lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

). In 1878 he worked with his father and his brother to an

excavation Excavation may refer to: * Excavation (archaeology) * Excavation (medicine) * ''Excavation'' (The Haxan Cloak album), 2013 * ''Excavation'' (Ben Monder album), 2000 * ''Excavation'' (novel), a 2000 novel by James Rollins * '' Excavation: A Memo ...

of the Lombard archaeological site of Testona ( Moncalieri). One of Calandra's first sculptures, ''Vigils of Penelope'', was displayed in 1880 at the Turin's Exhibition of Fine Arts. At the 1884 National Exhibition in Turin, he displayed three works: ''Judah'', ''Tigre Reale'', and ''Fior di Chiostro''. Calandra Also completed many portrait busts and bas-reliefs. ''Dizionario degli Artisti Italiani Viventi: pittori, scultori, e Architetti.''
by Angelo de Gubernatis. Tipe dei Successori Le Monnier, 1889, page 84-85. In 1902, with his fellow artists Leonardo Bistolfi,

Giorgio Ceragioli Giorgio Ceragioli (June 24, 1930 – July 17, 2008) was an Italian engineer, professor and a leader in the pro-''Third World'' movement in Italy. Biography Giorgio Ceragioli was born in Torino the 24 June 1930. His grandfather was a well known ...

Enrico Reycend Enrico Reycend (Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia, November 3, 1855 – Turin, Kingdom of Italy, February 21, 1928) was an Italian painter, mainly of landscapes and vedute. Biography He attended the Accademia Albertina under Lorenzo Delleani and Antonio ...

and

Enrico Thovez Enrico Thovez (10 November 1869 – 16 February 1925) was an Italian artist-polymath best known for his contributions as a poet and literary critic. Biography Enrico Thovez was born in Turin less than ten years after unification. He was his pa ...

, Calandra helped establish the journal ''L'arte decorativa moderna'', which was devoted to

decorative arts ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. It includes most of the arts making objects for the interiors of buildings, and interior design, but not usual ...

. From 1912 he was appointed president of the

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

ese Society of Archaeology and Fine Arts (''Società Piemontese di Archeologia e Belle Arti''). He died in

in 1915.On-line biography
on

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

municipality web-site (accessed in December 2009)

Selected artworks

His sculptures include a

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

statue in

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

and an equestrian monument of

Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi, (29 January 1873 – 18 March 1933) was an Italian mountaineer and explorer, briefly Infante of Spain as son of Amadeo I of Spain, member of the royal House of Savoy and cousin of the Italian King V ...

, commissioned by the city of

and located in the

park of Valentino A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

. He also completed the monument to King

Umberto II en, Albert Nicholas Thomas John Maria of Savoy , house = Savoy , father = Victor Emmanuel III of Italy , mother = Princess Elena of Montenegro , birth_date = , birth_place = Racconigi, Piedmont, Kingdom of Italy , dea ...

in Villa Borghese (Rome); this statue was completed after the sculptor's death. Calandra also completed a large

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

of the Argentinian politician and writer

Bartolomé Mitre Bartolomé Mitre Martínez (26 June 1821 – 19 January 1906) was an Argentine statesman, soldier and author. He was President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868 and the first president of unified Argentina. Mitre is known as the most versatile ...

; the monument is found in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. His vast artistic production also includes some Italian coins made between 1908 and 1916 during the rule of

Victor Emmanuel III of Italy Victor Emmanuel III (Vittorio Emanuele Ferdinando Maria Gennaro di Savoia; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. He also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia (1936–1941) and K ...

.Web-site on italian coins
(accessed in December 2009) The municipal museum ''Antonino Olmo'' of Savigliano houses the ''Gipsoteca Davide Calandra'' which shows several of his

plasterwork Plasterwork is construction or ornamentation done with plaster, such as a layer of plaster on an interior or exterior wall structure, or plaster Molding (decorative), decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. This is also sometimes called parge ...

References

*The initial version of this article was based on a translation o
its equivalent
on the Italian Wikipedia, as retrieved on 2009-12-24.

Biography

Selected artworks

References

Further reading