You have until July 20 to visit “Carmela Adani, scultrice” at the Museo Civico di Correggio, the exhibition dedicated to the sculptor born in Modena, but Correggio by adoption. Inaugurated in early spring, Mini Motor proudly supports an initiative that aims to restore prestige and notoriety to one of the most important female names in Italian sculpture.

Correggio, June 3 – Carmela Adani, born in Modena in 1899, is unanimously recognized as one of the most important artists of the Italian 20th century, famous for her sculptural skills also recognized by her mentor, the sculptor and painter Giuseppe Graziosi. An artist from Correggio of extraordinary sensitivity, she was able to express a profound spirituality and intense human introspection through sculpture.

Born in 1899 to a family of stonecutters, she trained between Correggio and Florence, distinguishing herself for an artistic production dominated by the representation of the sacred and the human figure, executed with remarkable technical mastery and an evocative use of light.
Among her most important works are the marble altarpiece of the Certosa di Firenze, the Triptych of the Basilica of San Quirino and the Annunciation of the Cathedral of Reggio Emilia. In 1947 she was the only woman selected for the prestigious competition for the bronze doors of the Basilica of San Pietro. A reserved artist deeply tied to her land, she actively contributed to the cultural and institutional life of the city of Correggio, until her death in 1965.
Her production, vast and versatile, is divided between the sacred and the profane, between monumental works – such as the Marble Triptych of the Basilica of San Quirino or the Sacred Heart of Baragalla – and intimate subjects such as the very tender child portraits in bronze and terracotta. Her sculpture is based on a living classicism, nourished by the study of Renaissance masters, but filtered by an entirely feminine sensitivity, capable of capturing and transmitting the psychological and spiritual dimension of the subjects depicted. «Being a woman is my misfortune and my fortune», the artist stated with lucidity: an awareness that guided her entire career, conducted with dedication, courage and ethical sense.

“Art is acquired only through hard work, incessant work and a strong will. […] Sculpture seems to me to be an art less suited to women than painting: I understand true sculpture as it should always be, grandiose, heroic, solemn. Sculpture must be such that it strikes the less refined people with its grandeur, it must be understood by everyone, noble art, great, made with the simplest means. […] Women can also succeed in sculpture […]”

(From Carmela Adani, sculptor. By Ilaria Baratta).

The exhibition includes the display of over 70 works including sculptures (plasters, marbles, bronzes and terracottas) and drawings. The curatorship of the exhibition was initially followed by the management of the Museum while the scientific project of the exhibition was curated in agreement between the Adani family and the management of the Museum. The exhibition itinerary studied allows us to grasp the artistic evolution of the sculptor, highlighting her studies and her continuous search for that formal perfection in the rendering of the human body, which she has fully achieved.

More information on the site www.museoilcorreggio.org/2025/03/carmela-adani-scultrice/