Sculpture "The Medici Horse" (1594), bronze version
Sculpture "The Medici Horse" (1594), bronze version
Quick info
museum replica | bronze + marble | chiselled | polished | patinated | total height 24 cm | length 26 cm
Detailed description
Sculpture "The Medici Horse" (1594), bronze version
Full of strength and grace - a virtuoso masterpiece by one of the leading and most influential sculptors of Mannerism: Giovanni da Bologna, court artist to Duke Cosimo I de Medici. Late Renaissance, 16th century.
Original: Liechtenstein, Princely Collection.
Edition in fine bronze. Hand-cast using the Lost-Wax-Process, chased, polished and patinated. Height with marble pedestal 24 cm. Length 26 cm.
Customer reviews
Künstlerisches Finish und Ausdruck der Skulptur haben meine Erwartungen übertroffen!
About Giovanni da Bologna
1524-1608
Giovanni da Bologna, known as Giambologna, was Michelangelo's master-class student and the main representative of Mannerism during the transition between the Renaissance and the early Baroque.
His art represents a fusion of indigenous, Michelangelesque, and antique influences. In addition to large bronze and marble sculptures, statuettes form an essential part of his œuvre.
From 1544 to 1550, he was a student of Jacques Dubroeucq in Mons, Belgium. Many of the later important masters, some from Germany and his home Italy (Hans Reichel, Hubert Gerhard, Adriaen de Vries, Pierre Franqueville, Pietro Tacca and others), studied in his workshop. The artist settled in Florence and soon became the Medici's court sculptor.
Throughout Europe, the high nobility fought over owning works by him. It is unique how many works he produced in his studio. The Pope awarded him the Order of Christ, and the Emperor himself raised him to the nobility. Until his death in 1608, Bologna was in the service of the Medici in Florence.
An alloy of copper with other metals (especially with tin) used since ancient times.
When casting bronze, the artist usually applies the lost-wax technique which is dating back more than 5000 years. It's the best, but also the most complex method of producing sculptures.
First, the artist forms a model of his sculpture. It is embedded in a liquid silicone rubber mass. Once the material has solidified, the model is cut out. The liquid wax is 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, whereby the wax flows out (lost mould).
Now we finally have the negative form, into which the 1400° C hot molten bronze is poured. After the bronze had cooled down, the ceramic shell is broken off and the sculpture is revealed.
Now the sprues are removed, the surfaces are polished, patinated and numbered by the artist himself or, to his specifications, by a specialist. Thus, each casting becomes 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 complex lost-wax technique in terms of surface characteristics and quality.
(Rebirth). The term describing art from around 1350 until the 16th century.
A mindset that developed in Florence in the late 14th century that was retrospectively classified as rebirth of the classical ideals of Greek and Roman antiquity. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Renaissance spread first over Italy and then all over Western Europe and determined the entire artistic creation. Brilliant artists such as Donatello, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Dürer, Holbein, Cranach and Fouquet created their immortal works by following the humanistic premises and placing the human being in the centre of all thinking.
Renaissance experienced its heyday in literature through dramatic works and poems of William Shakespeare.
At the end of the 16th century, the Renaissance had to give way to the opulence of baroque, before its ideas experienced a rebirth in the classicism of the 18th century.
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.
A plastic work of sculptural art made of wood, stone, ivory, bronze or other metals.
While sculptures from wood, ivory or stone are made directly from the block of material, 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.