The Culture of Bronze: Making and Meaning in Italian Renaissance Sculpture

The Italian Renaissance was a golden age for bronze sculpture, both on a grand scale—such as Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise, or Cellini’s Perseus—and more intimate statuettes and small-scale functional objects. Bronze, being both costly and luxurious, embodied power, authority, and eternity and emulated the classical past. Yet it was one of the easiest materials to recycle, especially at a time when the need for artillery was ever-present. Drawing on the latest research, and including some 20...