The Italian sculptor Giacomo Manzù (1908-1991) brought new vitality to the sculptural traditions of the past. He was best known for his relief sculptures, which give contemporary dimensions to Christian themes.

Born in Bergamo, the son of a convent sacristan, Giacomo Manzù was apprenticed to a carver and gilder at the age of 11. In 1928 he enrolled at the Institute of Art in Verona. The first period of Manzù's work (1928-1938) was one of research and experimentation, and he drew on a variety of sources: Donatello, the Romanesque high-relief doors of S. Zeno Maggiore in Verona, the archaic and Etruscan traditions, Auguste Rodin (whose work he discovered on a trip to Paris in 1936), and Medardo Rosso.

The range of materials employed also reflected the experimental nature of Manzù's early period. He used wrought iron, copper, silver, polychromed stucco, granite, and wax. The end...