Ugo Guidi - From birth to Academy

Ugo Guidi was born in Querceta, near Forte dei Marmi, in 1912 on September 14th. His real place of birth was Pietrasanta, but his family was from Querceta and he spent all his childhood in that place, so he always said he was born in Querceta. In this land, the Apuan coast, Ugo Guidi spent all his lifetime, except for a few years he staied in Florence and for some travels abroad.
Guidi did not spent a happy childhood: in 1918 his father died in World War First so he became orphan. This event left an indelibe sign on his life and on his style. The lack of a man in his childhood made the child Ugo Guidi very attached to his mother so in his production the themes of woman and motherhood will be very present.
After the death of the father, the family was in a difficult economic situation, but Ugo Guidi started to drawn since he was a child, trying to escape from a sad reality. Then he attended the Art School in Pietrasanta and here he started to study sculpture and to model marble blocks. After he graduated he entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Carrara, one of the most important Italian academies for who desideres to become a sculptor. The Academy of Carrara, where sculptors such as Pietro Tenerani, Lorenzo Bartolini, Carlo Finelli, Luigi Bienaimé, Benedetto Cacciatori taught, was a meeting point for great teachers and young sculptors, who could grow up in a very stimulating place working on the marble which came directly from the quarries.
Ugo Guidi's teacher was Arturo Dazzi, a very famous sculptor in that time: he made classical studies and continued the Purist movement. Moreover, due to his heroic and idealized realizations, Dazzi was one of the most appreciate artist by the fascist regime, so he sculpted a lot of statues which were brought to Rome. Dazzi had a great respect towards Guidi: he encouraged his artistical production, appreciated his results and when he finished his studies, Dazzi made him his assistant in the Academy.
In 1935 Ugo Guidi participated for the first time to an exhibition during the GUF contests: the GUF (Gruppi Universitari Fascisti, Fascist University Groups) were the fascist association for universary student and all students were obbligated to join them, so in this groups there were even a lot of antifascist persons. In 1936 Guidi finished his studies and he had a great achievement: in 1937 there was a contest, the Dervillé prize, founded by Stéphane Dervillé, a French businessman who owned some marble quarries in Carrara and was fond of art. Guidi won the first prize participating with his San Giovannino.

A project by
Federico Giannini

Museo Ugo Guidi
(Forte dei Marmi)

Associazione Amici
del Museo Ugo Guidi
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