Vatican Museums

This room is entirely dedicated to the sculptor Angelo Biancini, born in Castel Bolognese in 1911 and educated at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, where he studied sculpture with Libero Andreotti. His artistic activity began in the early 1930s, and was influenced by his experimentation with the specific potential of the most different materials: stone, bronze and ceramics; the latter soon became his favourite technique. In 1942 he began to work at the Institute of Ceramic Arts in Faenza, where he held a chair in sculpture.
From the 1950s he developed a growing interest in religious iconography, and at the 1960s he began to consolidate a close personal relationship with Pope Montini, which formed the basis of many works and commissions. The room presents a selection of precious ceramics with religious subjects, among which the most prominent are the historic encounter between Paolo VI e Athenagora and the Storie di S. Paolo, summarised in twelve panels using an incisive and essential language.