L’attività grafica di Santo Varni scultore e studioso: Amore che doma la Forza e il Monumento funebre di Lorenzo Dufour
Matteo Salomone
A crucial and multifaceted figure as a sculptor, collector, and scholar of archaeology and art, Santo Varni (Genoa, 1807-1885 was primarily active between Genoa and Turin around the mid-19th century. He complemented his sculptural work with frenetic graphic activity, which he developed in various directions. Trained by Lorenzo Bartolini in Florence, Varni considered drawing not only as the starting point of every sculptural composition, but also as an autonomous language. This is demonstrated by the numerous albums he compiled, which reveal his diverse areas of investigation: from neoclassical linearism to sheets in pen and ink with watercolour, and even to caricature. It is by interpreting Varni’s graphic corpus in the light of his collecting and scholarly activity that his profound versatility in drawing inspired by various Italian traditions, starting from the Quattrocento, can be fully understood. Through the examination of two case studies, this essay provides an initial account of the sculptor’s practice as a draughtsman.