"Antico: The Golden Age of Renaissance Bronzes" Exhibition
The Frick Collection
This event has ended.
Antico: The Golden Age of Renaissance Bronzes is the first monographic exhibition in the United States dedicated to Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi, known as Antico (c. 1455–1528). As sculptor to the Gonzaga courts at Mantua and in northern Italy, Antico earned his name, "the antique one," for his creation in the classical style of statuettes, reliefs, and busts that are distinguished by their opulence and beauty. Using inventive and highly refined techniques, Antico lavishly gilded, silvered, and patinated his works, elevating his bronze sculptures to the status of the ancient precious objects that were avidly collected by his Gonzaga patrons. Splendid and timeless, Antico's works represent a sophisticated court style and have always been exclusive and rare. Today fewer than fifty of his bronzes are known. Dispersed among museums in Europe and America, almost thirty-five of them will come together in this unprecedented presentation.
The exhibition aims to shed light on the master's transformative contribution to this art form, incorporating the results of newly performed technical research to answer questions about the dating of Antico's works, his technique, and his development as an innovative artist. Jointly organized by the National Gallery of Art and The Frick Collection, the exhibition opens in the fall of 2011 in Washington, D.C., before traveling to New York City the following spring. The exhibition is curated by Eleonora Luciano, Associate Curator of Sculpture at the National Gallery of Art, in collaboration with Denise Allen, Curator at The Frick Collection. The accompanying catalogue is written by an international team of scholars including Eleonora Luciano, Denise Allen, and Claudia Kryza-Gersch, Curator of Italian Sculpture at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. It will be the first independent monograph in English to focus on the artist and the first comprehensive presentation of his works in color.
[Image: Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi, called Antico (c. 1460–1528) "Apollo Belvedere" (c. 1490) copper with partial fire gilding and silvering; base of bronze, 16 1/4 in. without base]
Media
Schedule
from May 01, 2012 to July 29, 2012