One of the Novecento’s most important sculptors, Martini learned his art between Treviso and Venice, with journeys to Paris and Munich, the capitals of European art at the time. A member of the Ca’ Pesaro group from its first show in 1908, in the early 1920s he was then associated with Valori Plastici movement. In later years, the artist began harvesting the first fruits of his intense labours, participating at the Venice Biennale and the 1926 Novecento Exhibition in Milan.
During the 1930s, and after winning the Sculpture Prize at the 19312 Rome Quadriennale, his work was in great demand by government authorities. In 1942, he was appointed to teaching sculpture at the Venice Fine Arts Academy. In 1945, he wrote Scultura lingua morta, prefiguring the abstractionism of all new sculptural art. Martini was a versatile artist, a master of many materials. In addition to bronze, which he used for his sensual Pisana on display in the rooms dedicated to the Foundation, and the clay he adopted for Il Bevitore, he also worked stone and wood for other creations.
