Jerace, Francesco

Francesco Jerace was born on July 26, 1853, in Polistena, a small town in Calabria, the southernmost mainland region of Italy. At the time of his birth, Calabria was part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, one of the independent Italian states that would soon be unified into the modern Italian nation.

Jerace came from a family with sculptural traditions: he received his earliest artistic training from his grandfather, who was a sculptor. This familial apprenticeship provided foundational skills in working with three-dimensional form, handling sculptural materials, and understanding the technical demands of the craft.

Growing up in Calabria, one of Italy's poorest and most isolated regions, Jerace would have had limited access to major artistic centers or collections. This provincial background made his later achievements all the more remarkable, as he had to overcome significant geographical and economic obstacles to pursue artistic training and career opportunities.

The unification of Italy, completed in 1861 when Jerace was eight years old, created new possibilities for talented individuals from the provinces. The new Italian state needed artists to create monuments celebrating unification and embodying national identity, opening opportunities for sculptors like Jerace.

Recognizing that serious artistic development required formal training beyond what his grandfather could provide, Jerace moved to Naples, the major city nearest to his Calabrian hometown. Naples, former capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, remained an important cultural and artistic center after unification.

In Naples, Jerace attended the Neapolitan Academy of Fine Arts (Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli), studying under Tito Angelini, an established sculptor. The Academy provided systematic training in anatomy, composition, modeling, and the classical tradition that formed the basis of academic sculpture.

In 1878, Jerace displayed sculptures at the Neapolitan Exhibition, including Eve and Lucifer and Guappatiello (Neapolitan Street Boy). These early works demonstrated his range: Eve and Lucifer showed his ability to handle idealized religious and mythological subjects, while Guappatiello revealed his skill at naturalistic genre subjects drawn from contemporary life.

The Academy training emphasized both technical mastery and engagement with classical and Renaissance sculptural traditions. Students learned through copying antique sculptures, studying anatomy through life drawing, and gradually progressing to original compositions under professorial guidance.

Jerace's breakthrough came with his selection to contribute sculpture to the Victor Emmanuel II Monument (Vittoriano) in Rome, the colossal memorial to Italy's first king and to the unification process. This monument, designed by Giuseppe Sacconi, required numerous sculptors to execute its elaborate decorative program.

For the Vittoriano, Jerace created The Action (L'Azione), a grouping ten meters high entirely made in gilt bronze. This monumental work was commissioned to Jerace alongside The Thought (Il Pensiero) by Giulio Monteverde, creating a conceptual pairing of thought and action celebrating the intellectual and military dimensions of Italian unification.

The scale and prominence of The Action demonstrated Jerace's technical mastery and his ability to create works that combined idealized figural representation with patriotic symbolism. The gilt bronze technique required sophisticated foundry work and finishing to achieve the desired visual effects at this massive scale.

Jerace also created monuments to the fallen (Monumenti ai Caduti) for his hometown of Polistena and the city of Reggio Calabria, commemorating those who died in World War I. These works brought his skills back to his native Calabria, creating permanent memorials that honored local sacrifice while demonstrating Jerace's loyalty to his regional origins.

Jerace's professional success led to his appointment as professor at the Naples Institute of Fine Arts (the successor institution to the Academy where he had trained). This position allowed him to influence the next generation of Italian sculptors while providing financial security and professional prestige.

As a professor, Jerace transmitted both technical skills and the academic sculptural values that had shaped his own development: emphasis on anatomical accuracy, mastery of multiple materials and scales, engagement with classical tradition, and ability to execute both naturalistic and idealized subjects.

Throughout his teaching career, Jerace continued accepting commissions for public monuments, portrait busts, and commemorative works. His sculpture of Vittorio Emmanuele II (1888) for the facade of the Royal Palace of Naples exemplifies his contribution to the visual program celebrating the Savoy dynasty and Italian monarchy.

Jerace also sculpted a monument to the English astronomer and mathematician Mary Somerville in the Protestant cemetery at Naples, demonstrating his international recognition and his willingness to commemorate figures beyond the Catholic and nationalist themes that dominated much Italian commemorative sculpture. Francesco Jerace died in Naples on January 18, 1937, at age eighty-three, having witnessed the complete transformation of Italy from a collection of separate states to a unified nation and having contributed significantly to the visual culture expressing that transformation.