Seminar : Terracotta sculpture in Early Modern Italy (in English)
Dozentin: Dr. Federica Carta
MA Kuwi 6a
This course delves with Italian Terracotta Sculpture on a broad chronology, from the early 15th century until the 18th century. Terracotta, a material neglected during the Middle Ages, knew an important regain of interest about 1400, and a rich floraison during the Renaissance. Building on a vast, recent bibliography and looking at the rich terracotta collection in the Bodemuseum, this seminar will explore different aspects of the topic, such as:
- The cultural context of the renew of terracotta sculpture and the cultural values attached to this material.
- The different and changing roles terracotta played in sculptors’ and painters’ workshop practices.
- The question of polychromy and the perception of this material.
- The technical aspects of terracotta sculpture (for instance, the challenge of large-scale sculpture) and its conservation.
Some classes will take place at the Bode Museum.
General bibliography
Bruce Boucher ed., Earth and fire. Italian terracotta sculpture from Donatello to Canova, exhib. cat. (Houston, Museum of Fine Arts, 18/11/2001-03/02/2002, London, Victoria and Albert Museum, 14/03/2002-07/07/2002), New Haven, Yale University Press, 2001.
Marc Bormand, Beatrice Paolozzi Strozzi eds. The Springtime of the Renaissance: sculpture and the arts in Florence 1400-60, exhib. cat., (Paris, musée du Louvre 23/09/2013-06/01/2014, Florence, Palazzo Strozzi 23/03-18/08/2013), Firenze, Mandragora, 2013.
Anne Bouquillon, Marc Bormand eds., Terres cuites de la Renaissance : matière et couleur, Techné, vol. 36, 2012 < https://doi.org/10.4000/techne.16063 >
La Civiltà del cotto. Arte della terracotta nell’area fiorentina dal XV al XX secolo, exhib. cat. (Impruneta, 10/05-31/10/1980), Firenze, Officine Grafiche, 1980.
Nicholas Penny, The Materials of Sculpture, New Haven/London, Yale University Press, 1993
Zuzanna Sarnecka, Agnieszka Dziki eds., The Materiality of Terracotta Sculpture in Early Modern Europe, Routledge: London/New York, 2023.
