The Culture of Bronze: Making and Meaning in Renaissance Sculpture - Hardcover

Motture, Peta

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1851779655 ISBN 13: 9781851779659

Publisher: V&A, 2019

Synopsis

The Italian Renaissance was a golden age for bronze sculpture, both on a grand scale-such as Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise, or Cellini's Perseus-and more intimate statuettes and small-scale functional objects. Bronze, being both costly and luxurious, embodied power, authority, and eternity and emulated the classical past. Yet it was one of the easiest materials to recycle, especially at a time when the need for artillery was ever-present. Drawing on the latest research, and including some 200 superb images, The Culture of Bronze explores the material and making of bronzes and the interrelationships and collaboration between sculptor, foundry, and owner. Encompassing works made for domestic, religious, and civic environments, the book studies the symbolism of bronze, and the bronzes themselves, within their broader societal context.

Features works from sculptors including Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacoisi (Antico), Benvenuto Cellini, Donatello, Adriano Fiorentino, Lorenzo Ghiberti, Giambologna, Bertoldo di Giovanni, Leone Leoni, Barthelemy Prieur, Benedetto da Rovezzano, Adriaen de Vries and Agostino Zoppo

About this title

About the Author

Peta Motture is a senior curator of sculpture at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

From the Back Cover

The Italian Renaissance was a golden age for bronze sculpture, both on a grand scale―such as Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise, or Cellini’s Perseus―and more intimate statuettes and small-scale functional objects. Bronze, being both costly and luxurious, embodied power, authority, and eternity and emulated the classical past. Yet it was one of the easiest materials to recycle, especially at a time when the need for artillery was ever-present. Drawing on the latest research, and including some 200 superb images, The Culture of Bronze explores the material and making of bronzes and the interrelationships and collaboration between sculptor, foundry, and owner. Encompassing works made for domestic, religious, and civic environments, the book studies the symbolism of bronze, and the bronzes themselves, within their broader societal context.

Edition details

• Publisher: V&A
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1851779655
• ISBN 13: 9781851779659
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288