Taking up questions of artists’ materials and technical processes currently at the vanguard of art-historical scholarship this book studies the contiguity and interchange of workshop methods in the linked fabrication of both ephemeral and preparatory works by Bernini. Genevieve Warwick argues that the ephemeral arts of ritual occasion acted as a locus of artistic experiment for the artist in many respects similar to his use of preparatory models to suggest that Bernini’s artistry sprang from the fabric of ritual in both material and cultural terms. From processional floats to court stage sets for the ritual occasions of church and state such ephemeral arts were largely made of wax clay papier mâché wood stucco and plaster assembled into scenographic ensembles with textiles canvas and paint. Similarly Bernini’s preparatory models for marble or bronze sculpture were of plaster and clay even mud and straw or wax and painted wood as plentiful and affordable materials that were readily available for use and reuse as required. This book will be of interest to scholars working in art history and Renaissance studies. |Bernini Ephemeral and Preparatory Sculpture | Visual Studies
