In Memorium: Virgil Cantini

Scattered across campus are reminders of Virgil Cantini, founder of Pitt’s department of… Scattered across campus are reminders of Virgil Cantini, founder of Pitt’s department of studio arts.

His sculpture “Man,” which sits on the Fifth Avenue side of Parran Hall, is a symbol of man’s power. Its jagged points represent the heights of man’s progress.

The giant mural in the lobby of Chevron Hall is also Cantini’s. The work, “Science and Mankind,” depicts a man and a woman touching hands and symbolizes the birth of the scientific and computer age.

And then there’s the pointy sculpture in Posvar Hall, which students affectionately call the “death trap.”

Cantini, who lived on the Craig Street with his wife, Lucille, died 11 days ago, at the age of 90.

John Cooper, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, remembered Cantini’s “passion for making art and belief in the role of the creative arts.”

“His legacy is unique in that the campus will be graced by fine examples of his art for many years to come,” Cooper said.

Cantini came to Pittsburgh to get his undergraduate and graduate degrees.

He was born in Italy, but immigrated with his large family to the steel town of Weirton, W. Va., where he became a star high school quarterback.

After briefly attending Manhattan College in New York City, he accepted a scholarship to attend Carnegie Tech, which is now Carnegie Mellon University.

During his sophomore year, he volunteered to enter World War II, during which he made topographical maps and models in North Africa.

He returned to obtain a master’s degree in art history from Pitt and a doctorate from Duquesne University.

While pursuing his degree at Pitt, Cantini told his professor that the University should teach a course about art methods instead of art history. The professor asked him to teach the class and the studio arts department was born. Cantini taught for and oversaw the department of studio arts for 38 years.

Cantini, who preferred making sculptures and porcelain enamels because of the medium’s permanence, had a studio and gallery inside his home. He used his backyard as a fire pit when he welded.

Raised as a Catholic, Cantini also liked making religious art pieces, including a wood sculpture of St. Sebastian tied to a tree stuck with arrows. This sculpture, along with one of the Virgin Mary, can be seen on the first floor of the Hillman Library.

In addition to art on Pitt’s campus, Cantini was commissioned to construct many sculptures for the city, including his work “Joy of Life,” which sits atop a fountain near the East Liberty Presbyterian Church and depicts steel human figures dancing in a circle.

His other famous works include another porcelain mural at the back of the Teplitz Moot Memorial Courtroom, a porcelain enamel structure called “Enlightenment and Joy,” which hangs from the first floor of Posvar Hall, and an enamel-on-steel mural called “Aerial Scape,” inside the lobby of One Oliver Plaza Downtown.

Cantini’s daughter Lisa, who lives in Shadyside, said he always expected the best out of himself and others. “He always thought you could do better than what you did,” she said.

He is survived by his daughter, Lisa, his sister, Emma DiCiccio, and his brother, Andy.