Rafael Pi Belda (January 25, 1929 – April 3, 2012) was a Spanish sculptor. He studied beaux-arts in Valencia under the guidance of Enrique Pérez Comendador and José Ortells López. His works are mainly figurative. Biography Early years Rafael Pi Belda was born in Valencia on 25 January 1929. He grew up in a working family. His father worked as a furniture restorer though his mother also played a key role in his initiation to the Fine Arts. During his childhood years he lived in the historic district of Valencia where numerous artists' studios were devoted to the making of religious images in the vicinity of the Cathedral. The observation of their activity awakened his penchant for sculpture. Education From the age of sixteen, he attended the workshops of sculptor Carmelo Vicent, where he learnt the techniques of model-making, carving and relief as a preparation for the entrance examination to Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Carlos de Valencia. Between 1947 (aged 18) and 1952 he specialised in sculpture at that school under the tuition of Octavio Vicent, Carmelo Vicent, Enrique Giner and Manuel Beltrán among others. In 1952 he received a study grant from the regional government of Valencia that allowed him to pursue his education in Madrid and in Italy. Career In 1983 he started creating large-size bronze monuments. His work Al moro y al cristiano, installed in Caravaca de la Cruz (Murcia, Spain) is the first of this series. Until 1994 he shared his time between his work as a secondary school teacher and his sculpture workshop. Since 1997 he is dedicated full-time to sculpture. Comments on his work Francisco Agramunt commented on his style and technique: «Rafael Pi Belda's sculpture has its grounds on continued work, radical honesty and great technical mastery. Among the sculptors of the second half of the 20th century, his case is that of an independent artist that has developed a distinctive technique, within which he has evolved smoothly but steadily, until reaching a style that could be defined as mediterranean impressionism of a great expressive maturity, not only because his art is imbued with a classicist character but also because the artist is emotionally deeply rooted in that coastal geography. Rafael operates within a kind of mediterranean impressionism in order to elaborate sculptures that stand out because of the intelligent game of coupling, their open and harmonious volumes and their