Foundry to Finish: The Making of a Bronze Sculpture

In a process still relatively unchanged from Adriaen de Vries' time, "Juggling Man" is replicated in the direct lost-wax method. A foundry worker scoops slag from molten bronze.

Foundry to Finish: The Making of a Bronze Sculpture June 23 - July 11 2010 at The Getty Center

http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/foundry_finish/index.html?cid=egetty093

Dutch artist Adriaen De Vries became renowned in his lifetime for the innovative compositions and technical virtuosity of his bronze sculpture. He made Juggling Man around 1610, at a time when technical innovations in casting would have offered a safer approach than the method he chose.

De Vries practiced the more traditional direct lost-wax approach, in which the original model sculpted of clay and wax becomes encased in a mold. If the artist ran into a problem during the next stage of casting with molten bronze, he would have had to start the creative process all over again. The model would have been destroyed.

This exhibition and accompanying photographs and videos demonstrate the process of bronze casting as de Vries practiced it for Juggling Man. It is explained in three stages: modeling, casting, and finishing. Read all, modelling, casting, finishing and more...http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/foundry_finish/index.html?cid=egetty093