"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.0Bronze is generally defined as an alloy of copper and tin, but can contain zinc, lead and other elements. The term `bronze' 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.

"Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi, known as Antico (c. 1455-1528), exemplifies the Renaissance passion for the revival of antiquity. Antico was proficient in all manner of antique art, which he studied, restored, and re-created with unparalleled skill. His gilded and silvered statuettes, made for the Gonzaga rulers at the court of Mantua, pioneered the genre of bronzes made in multiples....Antico's bronze inventions in turn promoted the iconic status of statuary from antiquity, such as the Apollo Belvedere discovered in Rome in 1489....This...publication...is the only available English-language monograph on the sculptor....Featuring a series of essays, the book provides an overview of Antico's career and addresses topics ranging from the chronology of his works to his understanding of the antique, his relationship with Mantuan humanism and Mantegna, his portraiture, aspects of his technique, and his artistic significance."--Front inside flap of dust jacket.

Details with photographs and explanations of each piece found in the private collection of Robert H. Smith renaissance bronzes.

This outstanding collection of European bronze sculptures formed by Peter Marino, here catalogued for the first time and beautifully photographed by Maggie Nimkin, is built around an exploration of the human form, as depicted in this lustrous and sensuous material. With a special focus on French and Italian bronzes of the High Baroque, the catalogue illustrates the lively interchange of artists and ideas between Florence, Paris and Rome. Above all, the bronzes in the Marino collection are wonderful works of art, whose beauty and power speak across the centuries to today's audiences.

This fully illustrated volume brings together new research by some of the world’s leading experts, exploring the artistic production and cultural context of Italian Renaissance sculpture, from Lorenzo Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise to the small bronzes of Giambologna and his followers. The essays cover a range of sculptural materials and forms to cast fresh light on the artists, their creative and collaborative processes, and those who commissioned, owned, and responded to their work.

This handbook documents the antique works of art known to Renaissance artists up to 1527. More than 500 illustrations show Greek and Roman statues, mythological, and historical reliefs together with Renaissance drawings, engravings, bronzes, and paintings to demonstrate where these classical monuments were discovered.