Renaissance bronze sculpture was not carved as wood and stone were but instead cast in a mold via the lost-wax process. In this process, a wax model was closely coated with a substance that could withstand high temperatures, then heated until the wax melted. The result was a mold into which molten bronze was poured. After the bronze cooled, the coating was removed. Bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, was superior to brass, an alloy of copper and zinc. Artists were able to apply finishes, such as gilt, to bronze statues and decorative objects, and the natural patina of bronze was appreciated by Renaissance collectors. Ghiberti (see page 80) was the first great bronze sculptor of the Renaissance, closely followed by another Florentine artist, Donatello (1386-1466), whose bronze statue of David was the first life-sized, freestanding nude in Renaissance style (1430-32, Bargello, Florence). Although Donatello carved biblical figures in stone in a formalized manner, as if they were ancient Romans, his David, in a relaxed contrap-posto pose, could not be more realistic. Donatello executed commissions in both Florence and Rome, including sculptural work for Saint Peter’s Basilica.
Funerary monuments in bronze were highly prized during the Renaissance. The Vischer foundry in Nuremberg was active from the latter 15th century until 1549, and two of the director’s sons were influenced by a visit to Italy. This firm was known for its bronze tomb monuments, which were exported to Poland, Hungary, and elsewhere. The Italian sculptor Leone Leoni (c. 1509-90), who settled in Milan, produced bronze portraits for the Habsburgs and members of the Spanish royal family. (King Philip II was also duke of Milan at the time.) Leone’s son, Pompeo Leoni (c. 1533-1608), created the famous funerary group of gilded bronze portraits composing the royal family’s tomb sculpture at the Escorial (1597-1600).
Leone Leoni also made small round portrait medals in bronze, of such famous contemporaries as Michelangelo, Titian, and Andrea Doria. With his expertise in engraving coins for the mints of several city-states, Leoni could work with ease in such small scale. Pisanello, in 1439, cast the first known Renaissance portrait medal, of the Holy Roman Emperor. Early in the 15th century, collecting antique Roman medals and coins, as well as medieval reproductions of such pieces, had become popular among the aristocracy. Because the heads of Roman emperors and their contemporaries were almost always in profile, Renaissance portrait medals also depicted heads in profile. Given the individualized appearance of many Renaissance medals, we assume that they portrayed the head with some degree of accuracy. There are several examples of portraits sketched from life for people who also have portrait medals extant, and in most instances the likenesses are quite similar. In addition to providing visual information about the appearance
Art and Visual Culture
3.8 Portrait of Iolanta Ludovica, wife of Philibert II of Savoy. Silver coin, late 15th or early 16th century. (Hermitage, Saint Petersburg, Russia/Bridgeman Art Library)
Molded, thrown, and sculpted ceramic sculpture could be included in permanent architectural installations. Because the color was baked into the clay during the firing process and not just applied as paint, it was very durable, especially in the relatively mild climate of northern Italy. With this technical improvement, the artistic status of ceramic artists was enhanced. The white Madonna and Child, in relief against a blue background in a circular wreath, became della Robbia’s signature image and thus became a standard component of many Renaissance buildings. The French artist Bernard Palissy (c. 1510-89) created a new type of white enamel for his glazes that improved the durability of his ceramics. A noted naturalist, Palissy molded realistic snakes, fish, and other creatures for his garden projects as well as for his pottery. Catherine de’ Medici commissioned him to create a ceramic grotto for the Tuileries Gardens in Paris (c. 1573). Because terra-cotta was such an inexpensive material, artisans made stock pieces to sell at fairs and in shops, especially devotional imagery. Inexpensive, small
Of such luminaries as popes, monarchs, and condottieri, Renaissance portrait medals help to document buildings that are no longer standing or that have been altered. Alberti’s facade for the Tempio Malatestiano in Rimini, for example, is preserved on a coin honoring Sigismundo Malatesta, who commissioned the project (see Chapter 4, on architecture).
Because bronze was an excellent material for artillery, numerous Renaissance bronzes were melted down in subsequent centuries by military leaders desperate to obtain munitions. The imagery of some of these lost works of art has been documented in drawings, engravings, and verbal descriptions by artists and collectors.
World History
