SAME Museum - The bust of Francesco Cassani, founder of SAME

Bust of Francesco Cassani, founder of SAME together with his brother Eugenio. The artist is the Sicilian Francesco Messina (1900-1995), considered one of the greatest exponents of twentieth-century figurative sculpture. Raised in the artists’ studios of Genoa, Messina began exhibiting his works at a very young age in the most prestigious international events where he was noted for "simple and grandiose work and for idealistic and classical procedure, capable of giving life to forms that remain as ideal images" (Carlo Carrà, 1929). His career spanned nearly the entire twentieth century and was influenced by the greatest artists and writers of the twentieth century. His works include the St. Catherine of Siena in the Castel Sant’Angelo, overlooking the River Tiber, the Via Crucis in San Giovanni Rotondo, RAI's famous Dying Horse, and the Monument to Pius XII in St. Peter's Basilica. (source: Fondazione Francesco Messina, Milan)