ERCOLE (HERCULES) BY ARTURO MARTINO

Arturo Martini was born in Treviso in 1889 and died in Milan in 1947. One of the leading figures of the Italian art scene in the early twentieth century, he took part in numerous exhibitions; in 1936 he presented the monument Anno XIV. Il leone di Giuda, Ercole (Year 14. The Lion of Judah, Hercules), a symbolic depiction of the conflict which saw the Kingdom of Italy and the Ethiopian Empire on opposing sides between 1935 and 1936. An enormous propaganda campaign by the fascist regime accompanied that war of invasion, in an attempt to ensure prestige and support. In line with that triumphalist rhetoric Hercules – the personification of fascism – is depicted in the act of stamping on the front paws of the lion, the emblem of Abyssinia. Today, only a rough plaster model and the fragmented bronze version on display in the hall of the castle remain of that monument.