Sculptor, medallion maker, and draughtsman Luciano Mercante was born 4 September 1902 in Padua (Padova), where he spent much of his life. After graduating with a degree in architecture from the University of Siena, Mercante moved to Rome, where between 1924 and 1927 he attended the Scuola dell’Arte della Medal.
Though Mercante thereafter thought of himself primarily as a designer of coins and small-format metal works, he also expressed himself in a series of busts, life-size sculptures, and detailed preparatory drawings. The Museo Bottacin at Padua’s Palazzo Zuckerman holds a collection of Mercante’s work, donated by his family after the artist’s death on 15 January 1982.
Reference: Bruno Callegher, Elisabetta Gastaldi, and Valeria Vettorato. Luciano Mercante scultore e medaglista: la donazione della famiglia ai civici musei di Padova. Trieste: EUT, 2013.
Medallion of the Society of French Metal Artists, 1957. Photo: University of Trieste.
Genesi, 1934. Photo: University of Trieste.
Arianna, 1933. Photo: University of Trieste.
Mercante in his studio in Rome, c. 1925. Photo: University of Trieste.
Nudo maschile disteso, 1922. Padova Musei Civici, Museo D’Arte, Nr. 3022.
Figura maschile drappeggiata all’antica, 1922. Photo: Padova Musei Civici, Museo D’Arte, Nr. 3023.
Cavallino, 1938. Photo: Padova Musei Civici, Museo D’Arte, Nr. 1011.
Leone di san Marco, c. 1930. Photo: Fondazione Federico Zeri, Università di Bologna.
I have a medal from Luciano Merchante : the first one that you present on your article. Do you know how much can I sell it ?
best regards
I’m afraid the society doesn’t appraise or value. Sorry that we can’t help in this instance.