Giuseppe Cassioli (22 October 1865 – 5 October 1942)
, Olympic Games Museum. Accessed 27 July 2011. was an Italian painter and sculptor known for his

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

medal design. Many of his paintings are on display at the Museo Cassioli di Pittura senese dell'Ottocento in

Asciano Asciano () is a ''comune'' and hill town in the province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany. It is located at the centre of the Crete senesi between the river Ombrone and the torrent Copra, some southeast of the town of Siena by rail. Histo ...

, Tuscany.

Biography

Cassioli was born in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

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to Amos Cassioli, who himself was a well-known painter and went on to mentor his son.

Tito Sarrocchi Tito Sarrocchi (5 January 1824 – 1900) was an Italian sculptor. Biography Sarrocchi was born at Siena to a humble family, as a boy was orphaned of mother. He had to help support his two sisters and his father, who had become nearly blind. At ...

taught Cassioli techniques in sculpting. In 1885 he exhibited at the Academy of Fine Arts in Siena with a painting inspired by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

's '' Toilers of the Sea''. He worked in the memorial hall of the

Palazzo Pubblico The Palazzo Pubblico (''town hall'') is a palace in Siena, Tuscany, central Italy. Construction began in 1297 to serve as the seat of the Republic of Siena's government, which consisted of the Podestà and Council of Nine, the elected officia ...

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

. In 1900 he created the monument to composer

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

in the

Basilica of Santa Croce The (Italian for 'Basilica of the Holy Cross') is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, Italy, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 meters south-east of the Duomo. The ...

,Winner's medal for the 1948 Olympic Games in London
Olympic.org. Accessed 5 August 2011. which was followed by sculpted decorations for the stock exchange in

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, and statues and carvings for Arezzo Cathedral. He also produced several paintings for the Church of the Seven Holy Founders in Florence. Cassioli sculpted the right-hand bronze door for

Florence Cathedral Florence Cathedral, formally the (; in English Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower), is the cathedral of Florence, Italy ( it, Duomo di Firenze). It was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to a design of Arnolfo di Cambio and was structurally c ...

which brought about years of criticism and harassment to the point where he created a

self-portrait A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...

depicting himself being suffocated by a snake.

The Olympic medal

In 1923 the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(IOC) launched a competition for sculptors to design the medals for the

. Cassioli's ''

Trionfo Trionfo () is an Italian word meaning "triumph", also "triumphal procession", and a triumphal car or float in such a procession. The classical triumphal procession for victorious generals and Emperors known as the Roman Triumph was revived for ...

'' design was chosen as the winner in 1928.London 2012: Olympic medals timeline

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. Accessed 27 July 2011.Olympic Summer Games Medals
Athens Info Guide. Accessed 27 July 2011. The obverse incorporated

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

, the

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of victory, holding a winner's crown and palm with a depiction of the

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world to ...

in the background. In the top right section of the medal a space was left for the name of the Olympic host and the Games numeral. The reverse features a crowd of people carrying a triumphant athlete. His winning design was first presented at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

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. The competition saw this design used for 40 years until the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

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became the first Games with a different design for the reverse side of the medal. Cassioli's design continued to inspire the obverse of the medal for many more years, though recreated each time, with the Olympic host and numeral updated. The trend ended in 2004 due to the negative publicity in reaction to the design of medal for the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

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. Wojciech Pietranik, the designer of the medal, along with the organisers of the Games were criticised by the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

press for using the

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Colosseum rather than the Greek

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. Pietranik defended himself by stating that the

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had instructed him to use Cassioli's 1928 design as a template.Greek anger at Olympic medal design
''

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''. Accessed 5 August 2011. The error had remained for 76 years until a new style depicting the

Panathinaiko Stadium The Panathenaic Stadium ( el, Παναθηναϊκό Στάδιο, Panathinaïkó Stádio, ), as spelled by Philostratus. or ''Kallimarmaro'' (Καλλιμάρμαρο, , lit. "beautiful marble") is a multi-purpose stadium in Athens, Greece. O ...

was introduced at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

.Athens' New Olympic Medal Design Win IOC's Nod
People Daily. Accessed 5 August 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassioli, Giuseppe 1865 births 1942 deaths Artists from Florence 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 20th-century Italian painters 19th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors 20th-century Italian sculptors 20th-century Italian male artists Olympic competitors in art competitions 19th-century Italian male artists