Sculpture "Hippo", bronze grey/black
Sculpture "Hippo", bronze grey/black
Quick info
limited, 12 copies | numbered | signed | bronze | patinated | polished | size 60 x 42 x 35 cm (h/w/d)
Detailed description
Sculpture "Hippo", bronze grey/black
Fine bronze sculpture, cast using the Lost-Wax-Process, patinated grey/black by hand and polished. Limited world edition of 12 copies, individually numbered (8 copies marked with Arabic numerals 1-8/8 + 4 artist's copies numbered with Roman numerals I-IV/IV) and bearing the Hartogs signature emblems. Size 60 x 42 x 35 cm (h/w/d).
Producer: ars mundi Edition Max Büchner GmbH, Bödekerstraße 13, 30161 Hanover, Germany Email: info@arsmundi.de
About Evert den Hartog
Evert den Hartog, born in 1949 in Groot-Ammers, Netherlands, received his artistic training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rotterdam from 1971 to 1976. At first, he mainly created ceramic sculptures, until he discovered his passion for bronze in the early 1980s.
The themes of his works derive above all from the animal world, whose multifaceted motifs are rooted in ancient mythology. Evert den Hartog captures the creatures of the animal world in positions that seem to be weightless and light. The Dutch sculptor has taken up the mission of combining weightlessness and earthiness.
There is tremendous joie de vivre and dynamism in all of his works. The unmistakable Dutch humour radiates from the objects and gives the sculptures an unexpected lightness.
Den Hartog not only works as a sculptor, but he is also a renowned photographer. Similar to his sculpting, his favourite (but not the only) passion here are animals. He exactly knows how to capture the perfect moment. However, his animal sculptures are by no means realistic, as photography is. Instead, he works out the shape and form of his motifs in his sculptural works in a way that he never really strays far from the real model, but at the same time gives them an additional level of interpretation. This can be a moment of tension that he perfectly "freezes" (that is why the title of a publication about his work is "Frozen Moments"), but he also likes to add something playful to his animal sculptures.
In many Dutch cities such as The Hague and Rotterdam, his bronze sculptures can be found in parks and public places. In Dutch and German galleries, the artist presents his extensive oeuvre to a large audience. Bronze sculptures can also be found far from his home e.g. in Dallas, Djakarta and Kobe, Japan.
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.
Term for an art object (sculpture, installation) that, according to the artist’s intention, is produced in multiple copies within a limited and numbered edition.
Multiples enable the "democratization" of art by making the work accessible and affordable for a wider audience.
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.