Connections: Touch

Curator of European sculpture and decorative arts Ian Wardropper on the profound relationship between touch and sculpture.

July 12, 2011

5 min. watch

"We don't let people touch for good reason, but it fascinates me what that means."

Curator of European sculpture and decorative arts Ian Wardropper on the profound relationship between touch and sculpture.

Art Mentioned

Pope Innocent X, Alessandro Algardi Italian, Bronze, on a later plinth, Italian, Rome — Pope Innocent X
After a composition by Alessandro Algardi
ca. 1690

The Intoxication of Wine, Clodion (Claude Michel) French, Terracotta, French, Paris — The Intoxication of Wine
Clodion (Claude Michel)
ca. 1780–90

Saint Sebastian, Alessandro Vittoria (Alessandro Vittoria di Vigilio della Volpa) Italian, Bronze, Italian, Venice — Saint Sebastian
Alessandro Vittoria (Alessandro Vittoria di Vigilio della Volpa)
1566

Paris, Antico (Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi) Italian, Bronze, partially fire-gilt, silver inlay, Italian, Mantua — Paris
Antico (Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi)
ca. 1518–1524

Bacchanal: A Faun Teased by Children, Gian Lorenzo Bernini Italian, Marble, Italian, Rome — Bacchanal: A Faun Teased by Children
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
and Pietro Bernini
ca. 1616–17

Alexander Danilovich Menshikov (1673–1729), Unknown Artist, Swiss, Austrian, or German, active Russia ca. 1703–4, Red pine (pinus sylvestris), with wrought-iron clips, Russian, St. Petersburg — Alexander Danilovich Menshikov (1673–1729)
Unknown
probably shortly before 1704

Wine cooler (one of a pair), Ignaz Joseph Würth Austrian, Silver, Austrian, Vienna — Wine cooler (one of a pair)
Ignaz Joseph Würth
marked 1781

Marsyas, Balthasar Permoser German, Marble on a black marble socle inlaid with light marble panels, German, executed Rome or Florence — Marsyas
Balthasar Permoser
ca. 1680–85

Cabinet with personifications of the Five Senses, Satin worked with silk and metal thread, purl, chenille, seed pearls, coral beads, and mica; tent, knots, rococo, satin, couching, and detached buttonhole stitches; woven metal thread trim; silk and paper lining; wood frame; turned wooden feet, British — Cabinet with personifications of the Five Senses
British
third quarter 17th century

Belisarius and His Guide, Antoine Denis Chaudet French, Bronze, mounted in a bronze circlet with floral ornament painted to resemble gilt bronze, into which is fitted the original rotating mechanism, French, Paris — Belisarius and His Guide
Antoine Denis Chaudet
1794

Rothschild lamp, Andrea Briosco, called Riccio Italian, Bronze, on a later wood base, Italian, Padua — Rothschild lamp
Andrea Briosco, called Riccio
ca. 1510–20

A Hypocrite and a Slanderer, Franz Xaver Messerschmidt German, Tin alloy, Austrian, probably Pressburg (Bratislava) — A Hypocrite and a Slanderer
Franz Xaver Messerschmidt
ca. 1770–83

Pair of eyes, Bronze, marble, frit, quartz, obsidian, Greek — Pair of eyes
Greek
5th century BCE or later

Pygmalion and Galatea, Jean-Léon Gérôme French, Oil on canvas — Pygmalion and Galatea
Jean-Léon Gérôme
ca. 1890

Torso of a Ptolemaic King, inscribed with cartouches of a late Ptolemy, Basalt — Torso of a Ptolemaic King, inscribed with cartouches of a late Ptolemy
80–30 B.C.

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