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Mario Raggi (1821–26 November 1907) was an Italian sculptor who settled in England where he received several public commissions for statues of civic figures.

Biography

Raggi was born at Carrara, Italy, where he learnt to sculpt, and won several prizes, at the local Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara. He continued his training in Rome under Pietro Tenerani before moving to London in 1850 where he first worked for Raffaelle Monti and then, for several years, for Matthew Noble. In 1875 Raggi established his own studio in London.

Raggi was given some major commissions including memorials to Benjamin Disraeli at Parliament Square and Gladstone for Albert Square, Manchester. He completed three monumental statues of Queen Victoria for Hong Kong, Toronto and Kimberley in South Africa. A bronze statue by Raggi of Henry Vivian, 1st Baron Swansea, wearing a frock coat and gown stands in Swansea city centre. Raggi first exhibited a work, Innocence at the Royal Academy in 1854 but did not show there again until 1878 when he exhibited a portrait bust of Admiral Rous. He continued to exhibit portrait busts at the Academy until 1895.

Raggi is buried at West Norwood Cemetery, where his memorial is a flat slab.

Selected public works

Image	Title / subject	Location and coordinates	Date	Type	Material	Dimensions	Designation	Wikidata	Notes
	Evan Pierce memorial	Denbigh, Denbighshire	1872	Relief panels on pillar with statue	Bronze panels on limestone column with marble statue	15m high	Grade II*		Panels by Raggi, column by Martin Underwood, statue by W & T Wills
More images	Statue of Benjamin Disraeli	Parliament Square, London	1883	Statue on pedestal	Bronze and granite		Grade II	Q18161998
	Archbishop Archibald Tait Memorial	Old Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh	1885	Bust in niche	Bronze		Category A
More images	Henry Vivian, 1st Baron Swansea	City centre, Swansea	1886	Statue on pedestal	Bronze and granite	4.8m high	Grade II	Q29490036
More images	Howel Gwyn	Victoria Gardens, Neath	1889	Statue on pedestal	Bronze and granite	5.5m high	Grade II	Q29490196
More images	Statue of Queen Victoria	Victoria Park, Hong Kong	1896	Statue on pedestal	Bronze and granite			Q47305137
	Vulcan	Pinnacle of Sheffield Town Hall, South Yorkshire	1897	Statue	Bronze
More images	William Ewart Gladstone	Albert Square, Manchester	1901	Statue on pedestal	Bronze, granite and sandstone		Grade II	Q26492263
More images	Queen Victoria	Queen's Park, Toronto	1903	Statue on pedestal with bronze reliefs	Bronze and stone			Q122206391	Commissioned 1870, unveiled 1903. Bronze reliefs by J.L. Banks.
More images	Statue of Sir Thomas Jackson, 1st Baronet	Statue Square, Hong Kong	1906	Statue on pedestal	Bronze and stone			Q48802351
	William Crowther	Franklin Square, Hobart, Tasmania		Statue on pedestal	Bronze and stone

References

1. ^ S.E. Fryer, revised C. Whitehead (23 September 2004). "Raggi, Mario". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35649. Retrieved 18 February 2021. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
2. ^ Lee, Sidney, ed. (1912). "Raggi, Mario" . Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement). Vol. 3. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
3. ^ "Monument to Queen Victoria". Yale Center for British Art. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
4. Newman, John; Hughes, Stephen R.; Ward, Anthony (1995). Glamorgan: (Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and West Glamorgan). Penguin Books; University of Wales Press. p. 601. ISBN 978-0-14-071056-4.
5. ^ Jo Darke (1991). The Monument Guide to England and Wales. Macdonald Illustrated. ISBN 0 356 17609 6.
6. Cadw. "Pierce's Memorial (1049)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
7. Historic England. "Statue of Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield (1226370)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
8. "Statue of Benjamin Disraeli". The Courtauld Institute of Art. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
9. "Edinburgh, Teviot Place, University of Edinburgh, Medical School, New Building". Canmore. RCAHMS. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
10. Historic Environment Scotland. "University of Edinburgh, New Building, including Boundary Walls, 22-23 Teviot Place, Edinburgh (Category A Listed Building) (LB27992)". Retrieved 15 December 2022.
11. "Core Record: Statue of Sir Henry Hussey Vivian". vads. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
12. Cadw. "Pedestal & Statue of Sir H. Hussey Vivian (11634)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
13. "Core Record: Statue of Howel Gwyn". vads. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
14. Cadw. "Pedestal & Bronze Statue of Howell Gwyn (11634)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
15. "Statue of Queen Victoria". Yale Center for British Art. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
16. ^ Martina Droth, Jason Edwards & Michael Hatt (2014). Sculpture Victorious: Art in the Age of Invention, 1837-1901. Yale Center for British Art, Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300208030.
17. "Vulcan, 1897". Public Art in Sheffield, Public Art Research Archive, Sheffield Hallam University. 5 September 2006. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
18. "Raggi, Mario". Benezit Dictionary of Artists. 31 October 2011. doi:10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.B00148243. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
19. Historic England. "Gladstone statue (1197823)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
20. "Core Record: William Gladstone". vads. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
21. A User's Guide to Public Sculpture. English Heritage / PMSA. 2000. ISBN 185074776-8.
22. "Statue of W.E Gladstone". The Courtauld Institute of Art. Retrieved 12 December 2022.

External links

• 10 artworks by or after Mario Raggi at the Art UK site

• 1821 births
• 1907 deaths
• 19th-century Italian male artists
• 19th-century Italian sculptors
• Burials at West Norwood Cemetery
• Italian emigrants to the United Kingdom
• Italian male sculptors
• People from Carrara