sculpture

art

The Mobiles of Alexander Calder

11. November 2022 Tabea Tietz

On November 11, 1976, American sculptor Alexander Calder passed away. Calder is known as the originator of the mobile, a type of moving sculpture made with delicately balanced or suspended shapes that move in response to touch or air currents. Calder’s monumental stationary sculptures are called stabiles. He also produced wire figures, which are like drawings made in space, and notably a miniature circus work that was performed by the artist. The Calders…

art

Lady Liberty enlightening the World

28. October 2019 Tabea Tietz

On October 28, 1886, U.S. president Grover Cleveland, the former New York governor, presided the dedication ceremony of the Statue of Liberty, a gift to the United States from the people of France. Origin It is not really clear, what the origins of the Statue of Liberty really were. Sculptor Frédéric Bartholdi once stated that he got inspired while staying at a dinner party with Édouard René de Laboulaye, who was back…

art

The Rediscovery of Laocoön and His Sons

14. January 2019 Tabea Tietz

On January 14, 1506, Felice de Fredis rediscovered the statue of Laocoön and his Sons in his vineyards close to the ruins of Emperor Nero‘s Golden House palace on the Esquiline Hill in Rome. The discovery of the Laocoön made a great impression on Italian artists and continued to influence Italian art into the Baroque period. The Myth of Laocoön and the Greek Sculpture Laocoön was a Trojan priest of Poseidon. The story of…

architecture

Gian Lorenzo Bernini – Master Architect and Sculptor of the Italian Baroque

7. December 2018 Harald Sack

On December 7, 1598, Italian architect and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini was born. He is considered to be the leading sculptor of the baroque age. In addition he designed buildings, painted, wrote plays, and designed metalwork and stage sets. Whenever you are be in Rome, for sure you will find yourself somewhere in the neighborhood of Bernini’s artwork. “What we have is given by God and to teach it to others is to return…

art

Auguste Rodin – Progenitor of Modern Sculpture

12. November 2018 Tabea Tietz

On November 12, 1840, Auguste Rodin, French sculptor and draughtsman, was born. He is widely considered to be the progenitor of modern sculpture. “Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.” — Auguste Rodin, As quoted in [9] Rodin was born in times of riots and revolutions that spread through Europe. France was hit by this wave of change in particular during the ‘February Revolution‘ in 1848 which…

art

Not Simply a Piece of Marble – Michelangelo’s David

8. September 2018 Harald Sack

On September 8, 1504 Michelangelo‘s David, a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture, was unveiled in the city of Florence. The 5 metres high and 6 tons heavy marble statue depicts the Biblical hero David, right before his fight with the enormous Philistine warrior Goliath with the slingshot already on his shoulder, which is special because previous sculptures or art works, like the one’s by Andrea del Castagno or Donatello show David after the famous…

art

Georges Braque and the Invention of Cubism

13. May 2018 Harald Sack

On May 13, 1882, French painter and sculptor Georges Braque was born, who, along with Pablo Picasso, developed the art style known as Cubism, an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassembled in an abstracted form—instead of depicting objects from one viewpoint, the artist depicts the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to represent the subject in a greater…