Art
in the 1860s. Carbon-dating tests
on the soil where the sculpture was
discovered date the work to
approximately 38,000 BCE, making
it the earliest art of its type (male
figure in Europe.
destroyed or have deteriorated over
the centuries. Thankfully, given
bron e s durability, many other fine
classical figures, from hundreds to
thousands of years old, are still with
us today.
Down through history, the evolution
of three-dimensional art has endured
numerous changes in materials and
subject matter. Carving of materials
such as ivory, stone, and marble has
largely given way to molding and
casting figures in materials such as
bronze, iron and acrylic, which allows
multiple reproductions of a work.
The oldest known examples of
cast-metal objects were discovered
in the Cave of the Treasure (Nahal
ishmar hoard in southern Israel.
Conservative carbon-14 dating
estimates the items to c.3700 BCE,
making them more than 5700 years
old. Generally speaking, wherever
metallurgical technology has been
developed, metal has been used in
sculpture. Over the past two
millennia, the most common type of
metal employed in figurative casting
has been bron e, first perfected in
the Greek art of the Classical
period. Among the more famous
figurative sculptures in bron e are
the David by Donatello, created in
the 15th century, and The Thinker
by Rodin, created in 1902.
One of the most popular techniques
of casting, the lost-wax method, has
also been around for millennia. This
process remains the best method for
reproducing in hard metal a level of
exquisite detail not otherwise
possible, given the complexity and
subtlety of design and form. The
lost-wax process allows anything
modeled in wax or clay to be
recreated fully and faithfully into
various metals. Most contemporary
sculptors use water -- or oil-based
clay to create the model, in which
care is taken to capture and model
the smallest details; all details and
features the artist desires in the
finished piece must appear in the
clay. The clay model is then encased
in liquid rubber, and once the rubber
is set, it is carefully cut away to
provide a negative mold. Molten wax
is injected into the rubber cavity
and allowed to cool. The wax, when
removed from the rubber mold, is in
the form of the original clay. After
careful inspection and refinement,
the new wax model is covered with
a ceramic slurry, which is then fired
in a kiln.
Although much less popular with
sculptors today, marble sculptures
are among my personal favorites.
hese uni ue, one off pieces are
much more fragile than works cast
in bronze. Some of the classical
figures sculpted by artists such
as Michelangelo and Bernini, from
the 16th and 17th centuries
respectively, have survived the
test of time; many, however, were
The heat melts the wax, which
trickles out through a tiny opening
and is thus “lost.” All that remains is
the ceramic mold, a perfect hollow
in which every surface detail of
the wax model has been captured.
Molten bronze reaching
temperatures of over 2300 degrees
is poured into the ceramic. In the
United States, the bronze alloy is
Lion Man
of the
Hohlenstein
Stadel c.
38,000 BCE
Michelangelo’s
David c. 1504 Photo courtesy
of Galleria
dell’Accademia
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