what pedantic style of the religious scenes changes 

 into a daring and forceful st\le. Few of these com- 

 positions, such as the appealina; medal of 1927 for 

 the Fair at Tripoli,^'' recall his style of the 

 Vatican compositions. 



Although a greater number of subjects implicitly 

 calls for a greater variety in execution, this does not 

 necessarily impair artistic qualities. Banality, the 

 usual plague of commemorative medals, can seldom 

 be detected in Mistruzzi's compositions. Much 

 of the time his unquestionable technical skill or 

 the originality of the sculptiued theme, such as the 

 one on the Dante medal in 1921 (fig. 131), confers a 

 superior quality to his work. Apparently he does his 

 best when, inspired by Renaissance art, he abandons 

 the soft contour and pedantic technique of his usual 

 st> le and follows the more unified and compact sim- 

 plicity of those earlier masters. In 1935 he struck for 

 the Musical Academy of .St. Cecilia in Rome an 

 official medal (fig. 132) which bears on the obv-erse an 



Fig. 131. — It.M-Y. medal rommcmoiating the fith centennial 

 of Dante, 1921 ^'^ 

 (Plioto from R^) 



132. — Italy, obverse of medal [no date] commemo- 

 rating the Music .Xcademy of -St. Cecilia ^'^ 

 (Photo from R^) 



im[)ressi\'e bust of the saint. The high, massive relief 

 as well as the compact character of the inscription — 

 used in the Renaissance tradition as an organic part 

 of the whole composition — does not detract from its 

 effect. The delicate line of the head, turned slitjhtly 

 upward in a movement of ecstatic inspiration, is 

 fully enhanced by the simplicity of composition. 



The medal of Benito Mussolini in 1925 reveals a 

 third and even more unexpected aspect of Mistruzzi's 

 talent. The head, vaguely insjiired by Renaissance 

 technique, re\eals only moderate portrait qualities, 

 but the truly surprising part of the medal is the 



317 "Mcdasiia per la Prima Esposizionc I'icra Cainpionaria di 

 Tripoli"— /?~, p. 117. 



3i« "Mcdaglia per ii \'l Ccntcnario Dantcsco" — R.^, p. 

 114, medal 10. 



3i» '-Mcdaglia uflicialc dcll'/Vcadcmia di .S. Cecilia" — R.^, p. 

 123, medal 62. 



58 



BULLETIN 229: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY .WD TECHNOLOGY 



