Italian Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes in the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Allen, Denise, Linda Borsch, James David Draper, Jeffrey Fraiman, and Richard E. Stone, with contributions by Peter Jonathan Bell, Raymond Carlson, Federico Carò, Paola D’Agostino, Alex Foo, Claudia Kryza-Gersch, Fernando Loffredo, and Tommaso Mozzati (2022)

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Description

The revival of the bronze statuette popular in classical antiquity stands out as an enduring achievement of the Italian Renaissance. These small sculptures attest to early modern artists’ technical prowess, ingenuity, and desire to emulate—or even surpass—the ancients. From the studioli, or private studies, of humanist scholars in fifteenth-century Padua to the Fifth Avenue apartments of Gilded Age collectors, viewers have delighted in the mysteries of these objects: how they were made, what they depicted, who made them, and when.

This catalogue is the first systematic study of The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s European Sculpture and Decorative Arts collection of Italian bronzes. The collection includes statuettes of single mythological or religious figures, complex figural groups, portrait busts, reliefs, utilitarian objects like lamps and inkwells, and more. Stunning new photography of celebrated masterpieces by leading artists such as Antico, Riccio, and Giambologna; enigmatic bronzes that continue to perplex; quotidian objects; later casts; replicas; and even forgeries show the importance of each work in this complex field. International scholars provide in-depth discussions of 200 objects included in this volume, revealing new attributions and dating for many bronzes. An Appendix presents some 100 more complete with provenance and references.

An essay by Jeffrey Fraiman provides further insight into Italian bronze statuettes in America with a focus on the history of The Met’s collection, and Richard E. Stone, who pioneered the technical study of bronzes, contributes an indispensable text on how artists created these works and what their process conveys about the object’s maker. A personal reminiscence by James David Draper, who oversaw the Italian sculpture collection for decades, rounds out this landmark catalogue that synthesizes decades of research on these beloved and complex works of art.

Table of contents

Director’s Foreword
Max Hollein

Introduction and Acknowledgments
Denise Allen and Jeffrey Fraiman

Contributors

Of Casts and Characters: A Personal History
James David Draper

Collecting Italian Bronzes at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Jeffrey Fraiman

Italian Renaissance and Baroque Sculptors in Bronze: The Differentiation of Their Hands through the Study of Their Casting Techniques
Richard E. Stone

CATALOGUE
Note to the Reader

Central Italy, 15th Century
Mantua, Late 15th–Early 16th Century
Padua, Ravenna, and Northern Italy, 16th Century
Venice and the Veneto, 16th–17th Century
Northern Italy and England, 16th–17th Century
Tuscany and Rome, 16th Century
Florence, Late 16th–Early 18th Century
Rome, 17th–18th Century
Southern Italy, 16th–18th Century
Northern and Central Italy, 18th Century
Northern European Bronzes (formerly considered Italian)
Italian Renaissance-style Bronzes, 19th Century 491

Appendix to the Catalogue
Bibliography
Index of Artists
Photograph Credits

About the authors

Denise Allen is Curator, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Linda Borsch is Conservator, Objects Conservation, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

James David Draper was Curator Emeritus, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Jeffrey Fraiman is Senior Research Associate, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Richard E. Stone was Conservator Emeritus, Objects Conservation, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Peter Jonathan Bell is Curator of European Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings, Cincinnati Art Museum.

Raymond Carlson is Fellow by Examination, Magdalen College, University of Oxford.

Federico Carò is Research Scientist, Scientific Research, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Paola D’Agostino is Director of the Bargello Museums, Florence.

Alex Foo is Associate Librarian, National Library Board, Singapore.

Claudia Kryza-Gersch is Curator of Renaissance and Baroque Sculpture, Skulpturensammlung vor 1800, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.

Fernando Loffredo is Assistant Professor of Early Modern Mediterranean and Colonial Art, State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Tommaso Mozzati is Assistant Professor, University of Perugia.

Tags

Artists: Algardi, Alessandro (Italian, 1598–1654) | Antico (Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi) (Italian, ca. 1460–1528) | Aspetti, Tiziano (Italian, ca. 1561–1606) | Bellano, Bartolomeo (Italian, Paduan, 1437/38–1496/97) | Bernini, Gian Lorenzo (Italian, 1598–1680) | Calzetta da Ravenna, Severo | Cellini, Benvenuto (Italian, 1500–1571) | Della Porta, Guglielmo (Italian, ca. 1506–1577) | Donatello (Italian, ca. 1386–1466) | Giambologna (Giovanni Bologna) (Italian, Florentine, ca. 1529–1608) | Giovanni, Bertoldo di | Lombardo, Antonio (Italian, Ferrarese, ca. 1458–1516) | Mantegna, Andrea (Italian, Paduan, 1430/31–1506) | Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564) | Pollaiuolo, Antonio (Italian, Florentine, 1431/32–1498) | Riccio, Il (Andrea Briosco) (Italian, Paduan, 1470–1532) | Roccatagliata, Niccolò (Italian, active 1593–1636) | Susini, Antonio | Tacca, Ferdinando | Tintoretto, Jacopo (Italian, 1518–1594) | Vittoria, Alessandro

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Denise Allen

Peter Jonathan Bell

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Federico Carò

Paola D'Agostino

James David Draper

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Jeffrey Fraiman

Claudia Kryza-Gersch

Fernando Loffredo

Tommaso Mozzati

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