Bronze statue of a man essay

Opening July 28 at the Getty Center (and then on December 13 at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C.) is the first major exhibition entirely devoted to ancient bronze sculpture of the Hellenistic period.

Thousands of bare pedestals at archaeological sites show us that at one point bronzes were everywhere. Lysippos, sculptor to Alexander the Great, was reported to have made 1,500 bronze statues in his lifetime. None survive today. Fewer than 200 bronze sculptures from the Hellenistic period survive.

The lost-wax casting of bronze is achieved in three different ways: solid lost-wax casting, hollow lost-wax casting by the direct process, and hollow lost-wax casting by the indirect process. The first method, which is also the earliest and simplest process, calls for a model fashioned in solid wax.

Bronze lends itself to emotional expression. Bronze sculpture is made with the lost-wax casting process, a technique that allows for finer detailing than stone carving. Because bronze is strong, metal sculptures could also have more dynamic forms than marble sculptures. In ancient times, bronze sculptures were common.