Giuseppe Moretti
An Italian-born sculptor who defined American cityscapes with monumental public art, most famously the colossal iron god Vulcan in Birmingham.
1857–1935 (age 78)·American sculptor·Birthday: February 3
Biography
Giuseppe Moretti sailed to America with Old World technique and a flair for the dramatic. Settling first in New York, his talent for large-scale, heroic sculpture soon found a home in the industrial cities of the Northeast and South. His masterpiece, and his defining claim to fame, is Vulcan, the massive cast-iron statue created for Birmingham, Alabama's exhibit at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Towering over the city to this day, it is a literal monument to the iron industry that built Birmingham. Moretti's prolific output included bronze soldiers, marble fountains, and allegorical figures that still grace parks and squares from Pittsburgh to Havana. He lived large, with a noted friendship with Enrico Caruso, and his work embodied the grand, optimistic spirit of American civic decoration at the turn of the century.
#1 When Giuseppe Was Born
The biggest hits of 1857
Giuseppe's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1857Born
1862Started school
President: Abraham Lincoln
1870Became a teenager
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1873Could drive
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1875Could vote
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1878Turned 21
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
1887Turned 30
President: Grover Cleveland
1897Turned 40
President: William McKinley
1907Turned 50
Financial panic grips Wall Street
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1917Turned 60
Russian Revolution overthrows the tsar; US enters WWI
President: Woodrow Wilson
1927Turned 70
Lindbergh flies solo across the Atlantic; The Jazz Singer premieres
President: Calvin Coolidge"My Blue Heaven" — Gene Austin
1935Died at 78
Social Security Act signed into law
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,450President: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Cheek to Cheek" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Mutiny on the Bounty
Key Achievements
- Created Vulcan, the 56-foot tall cast iron statue in Birmingham, Alabama, the largest of its kind in the world.
- Designed and sculpted numerous public monuments across the United States, including the Stephen Foster Memorial in Pittsburgh.
- Was among the first artists to experiment with and use aluminum as a medium for sculpture.
- His works were exhibited at major world's fairs, including the 1904 St. Louis Exposition and the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition.
Did You Know?
He was a close personal friend of the legendary Italian tenor Enrico Caruso, who admired Moretti's singing voice.
He was known for his eccentric style and was almost always seen wearing a distinctive green tie.
Several of his major works, including Vulcan, were originally created for display at world's fairs.
A significant collection of his plaster models and papers is housed at the Birmingham Museum of Art.
“Vulcan stands not as a god, but as the spirit of the forge.”
