Antonietta Raphael

Antonietta Raphaël was born in Kaunas (then Kovno, Lithuania) in 1895 into a Jewish family, daughter of a rabbi. After her father's death, she moved with her mother to London, where she studied music and graduated in piano at the Royal Academy of Music, also teaching solfeggio. In 1919, following her mother's death, she moved to Paris, engaging with artistic and cultural circles, before settling in Rome in 1924. There, in 1925, she enrolled at the Accademia di Belle Arti and met Mario Mafai, her lifelong partner and fellow artist, with whom she co-founded the Scuola Romana, a significant Italian art movement of the 20th century. Antonietta was known for her strong anti-academic stance, especially expressed through her sculptures, which after World War II became central to her artistic output, highlighting a tender and vibrant material sensibility in works such as "Miriam dormiente" and "Nemesis." Her painting was syncretic and poetic, influenced by her Parisian experiences and artists like Soutine and Chagall, with expressionist and primitive touches. Her life was also marked by family: with Mafai, she had three daughters—Miriam, Simona, and Giulia—who pursued cultural and artistic careers. Antonietta Raphaël died in Rome in 1975, leaving a significant artistic legacy.