The little district village of Savignano in Prato, is mentioned by Repetti (in his Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Tuscany, printed in 1843) as the birth place of two of great artists: Fra Bartolomeo della Porta, who lived in the 16th century; and Lorenzo di Lidorio Bartolini (Born on the 7th of January 1777). At the age of twelve, Lorenzo attended the "Accademia delle Belle Arti" in Florence, even though his most influential teacher, had been the sculptor Giovanni Insom of Trentino. In order to pay for his studies, he worked in the Alabaster workshops in Volterra; during these years he was influenced by the Neoclassical drawings of Flaxman. At the age of twenty he moved to Paris; here he studied as a pupil of David and of the sculptor F. F. Lemot and became friends with Ingres and Fètis. In 1802, he won 2nd prize in the "Prix de Rome" competition, with a bas-relief representing Clobi and Bitone. Denon, the general director of the museums of Paris, commissioned him to sculpt a bust representing Napoleon, and a bas-relief representing Austerlitz for the Vendom column. After returning from France, he was to be inspired again by the study of Nature and the tradition of Italian Renaissance. Lorenzo Bartolini found his own style, in the beginnings of a definite reaction to the classicism. In 1808, he was called upon by Elisa Baciocchi, to teach sculpture at the Academy in Carrara, where he enchanted many of his pupils. Amongst his works in this period: a group (a sculpture) representing Elisa Baciocchi with her daughter, busts of them and of Prince Felice (which is kept today in Versailles). In 1814 he visited Napoleon in the Isle of Saint Elena; afterwards he settled in Florence where he remained until his death. His love for Napoleon and his revolutionary ideas made the Florentines hostile towards him; so, he temporarily returned to the Alabaster workshops. From abroad, he had been commissioned to sculpt a bust representing Byron and a pourtalès, "L'Ammostatore", using the 15th century Florentine traditions. His fame grew again and he had many works commissioned during these years; these were the years in which his art was at its climax. In 1824, he completed the sculpture of the "Carità Educatrice" for the Galleria Palatina, in Florence: in this work the Classical monumentality is mixed with the 15th century tradition; and the sculpture also seems to contain a political and moral message. In 1836, he finished the "Faith in the Lord" for the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, in Milan (the original plaster can be found today, in the Town Hall Gallery in Prato); in this sculpture he seems to have reflected the pure form of Classicism. He made the tomb for Sofia Zamojska (inspired by the tomb sculptures of the Renaissance) in Santa Croce's Church, in Florence. He began working on the great monument (within the grounds around "Villa Demidoff" which contained many large statues) for Niccolò Demidoff. It was only after Demidoff's death however, that he had been able to thoroughly complete it. In 1839, he had finally been offered the teaching position at the "Accademia di Belle Arti" after having applied for the past fourteen years. Bartolini did not hesitate to express anti-Classicist ideas: he used these ideas as a model to his pupils, that had to sculpt Esopo, a hunchback man. In the controversy that followed, Lorenzo Bartolini found a way to expose his artistic ideas. In 1840, he was assigned to the "Legion d'Onore" and became a member of the Institute of Paris. Between 1840 and 1841 he built (in a Classical style) a sculpture for the Earl A.A.Neippeng, in the Steccata di Parma. Other works in the Neoclassical style are the "Ninfa dello Scorpione" (1845) and the "Ninfa del Deserto" completed by Duprè for the Marquis Ala Ponzone of Cremona. Classical, almost to completion, are the group of "Pirro, Astianatte and Andromaca" that he made for the Earl Poldi Pezzoli of Milan; that seems to compete in beauty with the "Ercole and Licia" by Canova. Far from the Classical statues of "Machiavelli" (1846) and "Beatrice Donati" (1845), that were inspired by the 15th century models. In 1847, he went to Rome to sculpt a bust of Pio IX. Back in Florence and to his work, Bartolini died on the 20th of January 1850, at the age of seventy three, following five days of illness. In the first half of the 19th century Bartolini was one of the most complex artists of the Tuscany Renaissance: always searching for beauty, he assimilated different inspirations and re-elaborating them with his own powerful style.