Italian sculptor, part of a family of sculptors. Four generations of the family lived and worked in the same studio in Rome for some 150 years. The first of the family to occupy this studio was the sculptor Adamo Tadolini (1788-1868). Born in Bologna, he arrived in the capital in 1814 after wining the Prix de Rome. The success of his early work soon brought him to the attention of Canova who invited him to work in his studio.

The family tradition was continued by his eldest son Scipione Tadolini. Trained in his father's studio, he was barely in his twenties when he produced a statue which was to establish his fame, 'Ninfa Pescatrice'. This sensuous and elegant nude set the pattern for much of his future work, combining a classical su...