Venice Chooses

Venice bulged last week with tourists and art lovers flocking to Europe's oldest (1895) and most distinguished recurring art show, the Biennale. It might be weeks before the critics finish their trend-spotting (the show contains 3,600 entries) and decide on the most noteworthy new discoveries. In the meantime, the Biennale's judges made some choices of their own, awarded top prizes of 1,000,000 lire (about $1,600) in each of four fields.The winners:

ITALIAN SCULPTURE: Milan's Marino Marini (TIME, Feb. 27, 1950), whose stiff-legged horses and plump riders have become Marini trademarks.

ITALIAN PAINTING: Milan's Bruno Cassinari, portraitist and landscapist, and Venice's Bruno Saetti, abstractionist, who shared the prize between them.

FOREIGN SCULPTURE: U.S. Abstractionist Alexander Calder (TIME, Jan. 8, 1951), whose whirligig mobiles fascinated both judges and visitors.

FOREIGN PAINTING: French Colorist Raoul Dufy (TIME, Nov. 8, 1948 et seq.), for a representative selection of his bright gay-spirited land- and seascapes.

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