Saint Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio, (sculpture).

Saint Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio, (sculpture).

Romanelli, sculptor.

Saint Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio, (sculpture).

Dedicated 1964.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: gray granite.

Sculpture: approx. 5 ft. 6 in. x 2 ft. 3 in. x 2 ft. 8 in.; Base: approx. 3 ft. x 3 ft. 4 in. x 3 ft. 6 in.

(At proper right side of wolf's proper right forepaw:) ROMANELLI - FLORENCE (ITALY) (On front of base, incised letters:) ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI/IN MEMORIAM/VERY REV. BENEDICT BIRO/O.F.M. (On back of base, incised letters:) JOSEPH CARDINAL/MINDSZENTY/VISITED ST. EMERY'S CHURCH/MAY 8, 1974 signed

A life-size bronze representation of St. Francis and the Wolf of Bubbio. St. Francis is shown in his traditional robe, tied with a rope at the waist. His hood is off and forms part of the collar of the robe. He is bending toward the proper right, looking down at the wolf, his arms and hands forming a circle of blessing around its head. The wolf's neck is stretched up to St. Francis. The entire work is on an unpolished gray granite truncated pyramid type base.

Religion -- Saint -- St. Francis

Outdoor Sculpture -- Connecticut -- Fairfield

St. Emery's Church, 850 Kings Highway, Fairfield, Connecticut 06430

The sculpture is dedicated in memory of Father Benedict Biro and also commemorates the visit of Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty to St. Emery's Church on May 8, 1974. The exact dates of the sculpture are not known. Either the statue has been there since the first St. Emery's (1899) and the pedestal is new or the statue was donated on Father's Biro's death, which was either before or after Cardinal Mindzenty's historic visit in 1974. According to the SOS! survey, because the signature and the anglaization of the word Florence, the Romanelli who made this work is likely either Romana (1882-1958), Raffaelo (1856-1928) or Carlo (b. 1872).

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Connecticut survey, 1994.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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