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March 2nd, 2008 by Just Glass Oline Staff

For over twenty years, Guiseppe Armani created masterpieces of figurines that ranged from the very traditional to the more contemporary or daring sculptures.

They were infused with the most amazing breathtaking realism, and an innate spark of life.

Armani was born in Italy in 1935, and from the moment he could hold a pencil he drew everything in sight, all day long.

His parents were intrigued and amazed at his talent with the pencil, which consistently produced lifelike characters from a very early age, when most children drew stick figures.

He had a true gift and an amazing talent that led him to pursue art as a career.

Giuseppe’s teachers decided that Armani should attend the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. While the arrangements were being made, his father died unexpectedly.

The family needed Giuseppe now and Art school was forgotten for the moment but he never for a single moment forgot his art or his dream.

Giuseppe Armani’s natural talent was finally recognized when a local priest organized an exhibition of young artists; Giuseppe entered a sculpture of a classically inspired male torso. The work was greatly admired for its extraordinary anatomical precision.

When the torso was taken to the Art Gallery in Pisa, located across the street from the famous Leaning Tower, Giuseppe Armani’s talent was rewarded with the offer of a permanent job there.

In Pisa, Armani’s dream of studying art was finally realized.

He immersed himself in a Renaissance that he had only read about in books. He traveled to Siena and Florence and began to create his own personal style which drew very heavily on the style of 16th Century Florentine Renaissance.

Sculpture, Armani realized, allowed him to work in three dimensions. He infused life, character and even soul into his works.

Giuseppe experimented in wood, clay, alabaster and marble and his reputation grew with each breathtaking creation. Art admirers soon started flocking to the gallery to see Armani’s latest efforts.

In 1975, the Florence Sculture d’Arte, recognizing Armani’s genius, offered him the opportunity to work exclusively for them. He would be encouraged to give free rein to his artistic muse. Giuseppe Armani accepted.

This continues to amaze admirers the world over. Giuseppe Armani describes his art this way; “Although I consider myself a direct descendant of the Renaissance heritage, I believe that an artist has to follow his own evolution and not solely be a ruminant of the past, as glorious as it may have been.

An artist conducts a search that may lead him far out in exploring new areas of interest. I continually search to discover new and better means of expression.”

Giuseppe Armani passed away suddenly in October 2006, of a massive stroke.