1915–1924: war, maturity and recognition

The decade from 1915 to 1924 spans the years of war and civil recovery, leading to the full artistic maturity of Alimondo Ciampi. After the interruption caused by military service, the sculptor gradually returned to exhibition activity, establishing himself through works of remarkable intensity and receiving important recognition in Italy and abroad.

War and the interruption of artistic activity

In 1915, at the age of thirty-nine, Ciampi was called to military service in the Medical Corps. His artistic activity was therefore sharply interrupted, although he continued to produce occasional works.

In 1916 he created the bronze portrait of Adele Salvini Baldini for the tomb in the cemetery of Soffiano. The following year, as part of initiatives dedicated to artists at war, he participated in the Soldier’s Exhibition held in Florence at Palazzo Davanzati.

The return to sculpture

In 1918, during a leave period or while resuming work, Ciampi sculpted in marble a child known affectionately as Ciancino. During the same period he also created a life-size statue of his daughter Gemma, unfortunately destroyed during the war in 1944.

The year 1919 marked a more stable return to exhibition activity. He took part in the annual events of the Florentine Society of Fine Arts and presented works such as The Farewell, Ophelia and Formica.

During these years his funerary commissions also increased, including sculptures for the tomb of Rosita Grossi and for Lieutenant aviator Gastone Fracassini at the Monumental Cemetery of the Porte Sante in Florence.

The renewal of 1920

With the end of the war and the recovery of civil life, artistic initiatives flourished again. In 1920 Ciampi participated in the 12th Venice Biennale with the marble portrait of his son Giotto.

This return to work coincided with a particularly fertile creative phase. During these years he created the group The Lost Way, also known as The Lost Children, depicting two children portrayed from life, tired and disoriented after losing their way home.

Female portraits and idealization

In 1920 an important new phase also began in female portraiture. The work Graziella introduced a more idealized and emotionally intense vision, moving beyond simple physical resemblance.

During the same period Ciampi also created the bronze medallion of Professor Orazio Bacci for the facade of Palazzo Checcucci in Castelfiorentino, home of the Biblioteca Vallesiana.

1921: exhibitions and honors

In 1921 Ciampi participated in the First Roman Biennale with five works: A Philosopher, Ophelia, Abandoned, Mother and Child and Little Nude.

He also created works such as Toward the Mother, Youth and First Sin.

On June 10, 1921, he received by royal decree the title of Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy.

Venice and Lima: 1922

In 1922 Ciampi was elected, together with painter Llewelyn Lloyd, among the Tuscan jurors for the Venice Biennale.

He exhibited the bronzes The Lost Way and First Sin. That same year the marble Graziella entered the donation intended for the future National Gallery of Modern Italian Art in Lima.

International recognition in 1923

In 1923 the marble sculptures Abandoned and The Lost Children were sent to the First Exhibition of Italian Art in Buenos Aires. Abandoned was purchased by the Argentine government.

Ciampi also exhibited in Turin and Viareggio, while receiving private and funerary commissions in Italy and abroad.

1924 and the Venice Biennale

The year 1924 was marked by participation in the 14th Venice Biennale as an invited artist. Ciampi presented the bronzes Family of Rabbits and Little Bather.

He also exhibited eighteen sculptures in Livorno, and later in Montecatini and Monza.

The Dupré Prize

In October 1924 Ciampi won the Dupré Prize with The Nest, a sculpture of a young nude girl holding a nest of birds. The work was awarded for the precision of its modeling and its attentive observation of nature.