Hugo Daini studied in Roma and was best known for his creation of several monuments showing Simon Bolivar, including the bronze statue at Belgrave Square, London. He completed an apprenticeship in a sculptor’s workshop and studied at the art academy in Roma from 1939. In World War II he served as a paratrooper and subsequently graduated. In 1948 he received a scholarship from the Italian NOC CONI. He moved to Venezuela in 1949 where he became well known. He created a number of major works in Caracas, including the statues for the facade of the Palacio Blanco in 1956, and a number of statues, reliefs and fountains for the Paseo los Próceres (Boulevard for the National Heroes) in 1957. Daini’s works for public spaces were initially influenced by Cubism, his later small figures more by Expressionism. His daughter Rita (1954) and his son Rudy (1951) also became artists.
Italy