Adolfo Wildt (1868-1931), the Last Symbolist

This Italian sculptor close to the *Liberty* style and Symbolism, contrived to devise a language in which expressionism combines with reminiscences of ancient and Renaissance art as well as neo-Gothic art, striking an unusual balance between the expressive power of the modeling and the gracefulness of his purely decorative motifs. Foreign to the world of the avant-gardes, Wildt met with mixed critical acclaim, both because of the subject matter of his sometimes obscure works, and on account of his formal choices, viewed as being eccentric. His sensitivity made him the interpreter of a "tired, anxious, credulous and inquisitive age" (Ugo Ojetti).
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