287 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), color maps ; 29 cm
Notes:
"First published by V&A Publishing, 2019" -- title page verso, Designer: Will Webb, and Copy-editor: Rebeka Cohen
Bibliographic Note:
Includes bibliographical references and index
Contents:
Foreword -- Introduction -- Author's notes -- Map of Italy. The metal and its magic -- Modelling, moulding and manufacture --Forging identity -- Sculptors and founders -- The small bronze and its context -- An international taste -- Connections and conclusions. Appendix -- Endnotes -- bibliography -- Acknowledgements -- Picture credits -- Index
Summary:
"Being both costly and luxurious, bronze arguably carries the most significance of all the sculptural materials. In the Renaissance, the use of bronze embodied power, authority and eternity and emulated the classical past. Yet it was one of the easiest materials to recycle, especially when the need for artillery was often pressing. Nonetheless the Italian Renaissance was a golden age for the production of sculpture in bronze, such as Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise, Verrocchio's Colleoni monument or Cellini's Perseus. Bronze is generally defined as an alloy of copper and tin, but can contain zinc, lead and other elements. The term b̀ronze' is often applied to any copper-alloy sculpture. The Culture of Bronze draws on the latest research to explore the material and making of bronzes; the inter-relationships and collaboration between sculptor, founder and owner in the key centres of production, such as Florence, Padua, and the often over-looked city of Ferrara; as well as the inter-connections with Northern Europe. Encompassing works made for domestic, religious and civic environments, the book explores the symbolism of bronze, and the bronzes themselves, within their broader context in renaissance society." -- provided by publisher