Light, surfaces and materials: sculpting the imperceptible

Camille Ambrosino; Federica Carta

doi:10.14568/cp36432

Authors

Camille Ambrosino Université de Picardie Jules Verne (TrAme) - 10, rue des Français libres, 80080 Amiens, France; Università degli studi di Genova (DIRAAS) - Via Balbi, 2/4, 16126 Genova, Italy https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3923-5976
Federica Carta Technische Universität Berlin, Institut für Kunstwissenschaft und Historische Urbanistik, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6140-0505

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14568/cp36432

Keywords:

Sculpture polymaterial, Colours, Painted glass, Glazed terracotta

Abstract

Polychromy of Medieval and Early Renaissance sculpture can be painted, but also obtained with inlaid and using different materials. This paper focus on polymaterial sculpture and glazed terracotta sculpture in Tuscany, and the interplay between materials and lights – natural or artificial. Sculptors, indeed, used different materials and their surfaces – matte, glossy or shiny – in order to reinforce and convey the political or theological message to the beholder. They also adapted the device for the domestic setting, the interior of the ecclesiastical buildings or the façades of churches and civic buildings. Luca della Robbia’s implementation of glazed terracotta technique, in the 1430s, considerably changed the relationship between sculpture, material, and light.

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