Page 227 - Copper and Bronze in Art: Corrosion, Colorants, Getty Museum Conservation, By David Scott

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P L A T E 6 8 Donatello (Italian, 1386-1466) , David, ca. 1428-32 . Bronze.
H : 158.12 cm. The dark patina of this famous sculpture disguises casting
flaws in the surface of the bronze. Erected in the i430s , the work is
credited with being the first freestanding large bronze in the Western
world cast since Roman times. Originally in the Palazzo Medici, now in
the collections of the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence.

P L A T E 6 9 Giovanni Battista Foggini (Italian, 1652-1725), Laocobn (after
the antique), ca. 1720. Bronze, : 55 cm; w: 44 cm; D : 22 cm. This hollow
H
bronze sculpture was cast with the lost-wax method over a core of plaster
with small amounts of clay, quartz, and calcite. The fine patina on the
surface was probably intended to preserve the aesthetics of a translucent
golden brown finish. Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum (85.SB.413).

P L A T E 70 Alessandro Vittoria (Italian, 1525 -16O8), Mercury, 1559 - 60 .
H
Bronze, : 65.4 cm; w: 22.2 cm; D : 22.2 cm. This bronze is probably
an indirect cast in a heavily leaded copper-tin-zinc alloy. Traces of oil
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gilding can be seen under the microscope. The shiny steel-gray patina
has an unusually dark color that may be influenced by the lead content
of the alloy, although this cannot be ascertained without destructive
sampling. Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum (85.SB.184) .

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