Quick info
bronze | patinated | height 33 cm
Detailed description
Ephebe head "Young Man with Fillet of Victory", version in bronze
Rome's vocation was to absorb the legacy of foreign advanced civilisations, and they tried to infuse it with its own essence. This ephebe head with its even features, for example the fillet of victory knotted at the neck, which was perhaps once decorated with silver inlays, or the originally gilded lips, are an almost classical example of this. It is not an epigone copy of a Greek model but rather the artefact of a period that consciously worshipped the strict Attic harmony.
Original: Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek, Munich. Roman, around the birth of Christ after a model from the 4th century BC.
Bronze, with fine patina, cast using the Lost-Wax-Process. Height with pedestal 33 cm.
Producer: ars mundi Edition Max Büchner GmbH, Bödekerstraße 13, 30161 Hanover, Germany, [email protected]
An alloy of copper with other metals (especially with tin) used since ancient times. It is an ideal metal for high-quality artistic castings, capable of enduring for millennia.
When casting bronze, the artist usually applies the lost-wax technique which is dating back more than 5000 years. This is the best, but also the most complex method of producing sculptures.
First, the artist forms a model of their work. This model is embedded in a liquid silicone rubber mass. Once the material has solidified, the model is cut out, leaving a negative mould. Liquid wax is then poured into the negative mould. After cooling down, the wax cast is removed from the mould, provided with sprues and dipped into ceramic mass. The ceramic mass is hardened in a kiln, where the wax melts away (lost mould).
Finally, the negative mould is ready, into which the 1400° C hot molten bronze is poured. After the bronze had cooled down, the ceramic shell is broken apart, reavoling the sculpture.
Next, the sprues are removed, the surfaces are polished, patinated and numbered by the artist or by a specialist, following their instructions. Thus, each casting is an original work.
For lower-quality bronze castings, the sand casting method is often used, which, however, does not achieve the results of a more elaborate lost-wax technique in terms of surface characteristics and quality.
A true-to-the-original reproduction of an artwork in the same size and with the best possible material and colour uniformity.
The mould is usually taken directly from the original so that the replication reproduces even the finest details. After casting the replication, using the most appropriate method, the surface is polished, patinated, gilded or painted according to the original.
A replication of ars mundi is a recognizable copy of the original.
Roman art is primarily determined by the fusion of native Italic and Greek Hellenistic elements.
In architecture, pragmatic and political considerations played a major role in the expansion of the empire.
In the sacral sphere, the early temples of Rome copied the Etrurian-Italic style. The Roman secular buildings, such as bridges, ports, aqueducts, walls, gates, etc., played a far more important role.
With the remodelling of the Forum Romanum by Augustus and the redesign of the Forum of Augustus, the importance of old city centres changed. They became large enclosed outdoor space complexes. Axial symmetry, aligned toward a podium temple, became a defining feature of this period. During the reign of Augustus, temples and theatres were built in the "Eternal City" with increasingly rounded and dynamic forms, departing from the linearity of Greek models.
In sculpture, early Roman works were initially dominated by copies and redesigns of Greek models. However, Roman sculptors made independent contributions in the field of portraiture, where the bust form was particularly favoured. In relief art, there was a strong inclination toward ornamentation while maintaining narrative content.
In painting, triumphal processional paintings honouring victorious generals were a distinctive feature. For mural painting, the cities buried by Mount Vesuvius - Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Oplontis - offer the most extensive evidence.
Mosaic art ran parallel to painting and was primarily used for decorative floor and wall designs.
Some areas of minor arts flourished exceedingly in Roman times. Toreutics, the art of metal embossing, produced precious silver vessels. The art of glassblowing is documented by numerous excellent finds. Glyptic (engraving on gemstones) produced magnificent reliefs carved from semi-precious stones, engraved gems and cameos depicting official themes.
The extensive coinage in Roman times contributed to spreading the portraits of rulers across the entire territory of the Roman Empire.
A plastic work of sculptural art made of wood, stone, ivory, bronze or other metals.
While sculptures made of wood, ivory, or stone are carved directly from the material block, in bronze casting, a working model is prepared at first. Usually, it is made of clay or other easily mouldable materials.
The prime time of sculpture after the Greek and Roman antiquity was the Renaissance. Impressionism gave a new impulse to the sculptural arts. Contemporary artists such as Jorg Immendorf, Andora, and Markus Lupertz also enriched sculptures with outstanding works.