Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 10 : Record of press coverage, March 1982 - May 1984

r I The Courier-Mail 8 July 1982 , Lost-:wax process Art Review ·TWO OF the coinciding international exhibitions at the Queensland Art Gallery have been negotiated direct– ly with the lending bodies in England by gallery director Raoul Mellish. One of these exhibitions is "Renais– sance Bronzes from the Victoria and Albert Museum and Renaissance Bronzes and Drawings from the Ash– molcan Museum, Oxford." The bronzcs 'arc small-scale sta– tuettes, which were much appreciated by learned private collectors. These bronzes, wllose surfaces were lovingly chiselled and polished after – I hey had been cast by the lost-wax pro– cess, lent themselves ideally to appreci– ation by touch, as well as sight. They arc designed to offer satisfying aspects all around, to stand freely on tables or desks and to be rolled around in the hollow of the hand. As the bronzes arc displayc in low– set glass cases for viewing from all sides, the gallery visitor may touch them, at least, in his mind. They embrace a period ranging from 1400 well into the 17th century, that is, into the period of Mannerism and Ba– roque . There arc a few splendid Christian religious sculptures; the majority of the bronzes show subjects of Greek mythology, often adapted or e1•en in close imitation of the styles of their an– tique prototrpes Among pieces 1 admire particularly arc the earliest pieces here. Thal is, two figures of the Virgin and St John (c. 1400-1409), which belonged to a Cru– cifixion group and arc attributed to An– tonio filarete . In spite of their being a little above 14 cm in height, these statuettes have a sculptural grandeur and spiritual deprh which has nothing to do with mere physical size. Much of the go1hic spirit lingers on in them. Then, there is the noble statuette of St John the Baptist, attributed to Sev– ero d.t Ravenna . A close study of hands and face and, indeed, the total work will be a profound experience. Attributed to the sa me e~ccllent s,ulptor is "Spinario", a miracle of re– solved relationships of volumes and spaces, as well as in the movement of the surface. This, and other statues adapted from antique models, include a 16th century Venus and Cupid, the charm and clc– gan,e of which brings Correggio 10 mind . Another piece on the same sub– jecl. exploring a different kind of com- Statuelle of St John the Baptist, attribu– ttcl to Stnro de Ra.tnna plex arabeque movement, is in the manner of Gianbologna. Our own Queensland collection can boast of a splendid wax relief ("The Flagellation of Christ") by Gianbolog– na, and this you will find displayed with this exhibition. Exhibited with the 38 bronzes arc drawings related to the period. They include studies from antique statues, such as that of "Sleeping Ari– adne", done by one of the school of Ra– phael; a design for a fountain by Giovanni da Doig na, another for a candelabrium b orreggio and a drawing by Tin1orctlo after Michelan– gelo. ..