human or animal???

[oddist]

There have been a number of posts that have referenced animal sculpture..particularly horses..

I was wondering what opinion people might have of consumer preference for human or animal subject matter?

[manic]

For sculpture,I believe it would be human work. In the northwest (USA) it might be different. I am drawn to anatomy because of its endless array of movement from a single defined mass. Its sheer beauty, human or animal. However, human can be more expressive. I would become bored just doing one kind of animal, but probably not human. Aren't humans animals too?

[nep75]

I would think it would be animal. It seems like there are a lot more knick-knack items that are animals. Does that count or are we just talking fine art? There are a lot of sculptures that have both. In AZ there are a lot of Cowboy artists, generally have both. That's actually a very good question..... I wonder if there are any stats on that.... mmmm
~ N

[oddist]

Manic...OK...humans or "4 legged animals"..

Nep75...yes, fine art preferred...

[Landseer]

There have been a number of posts that have referenced animal sculpture..particularly horses..

I was wondering what opinion people might have of consumer preference for human or animal subject matter? There's no question that animal figures are extremely popular and have been, especially in the 19th century- deer, lions, tigers, rams, wolves, dogs, and horses seem to be the majority depicted. Less seen might be depictions of the more unusual- chickens, snakes, Possums and so on.

With dogs and horses and the many breeds of both, people tend to only want THEIR breed, so a person who has a Golden Retriever is far less inclined to buy a bronze of a Gt Dane than of a Golden Retriever.

Personally I think the human form is boring, but if you stick one on a horse sculpture- wow- it really complements both figures in a positive way.
Here's an antique broze of the famous Colleoni monument, it was listed in an estate auction a while back with this photo. As I recall the estimate for this was several thousand dollars and this one is particularly well done, plus I absolutely love the added on accessory details like the reins- this adds a whole lot of visual effect to a sculpture like this (left photo with a greenish patina)

I located an outlet for a modern cast @ $300, I doubt the detail is anywhere near as good but I wanted one of this figure for years and this was the only place that I found in months of looking that even has this model (besides Eleganza in Seattle @ $3200.00)

I ordered one in the 23cm size on a marble plinth last night, the seller's web site is all in German so it took some work to make the communication.

The photo of it (right) isn't the greatest but hopefully when the bronze arrives the quality and patina will be good, if I don't like the patina I can redo it.
It is on a pretty good sized piece of polished black and white marble- the marble is not shown on their web site, and is only listed there as an option for 10 euros additional cost and I ordered the option. They emailed this photo to me today, the base is definitely worth the 10 euros and is different than the 3/4" thick marble base their page listed for the marble, so this will be a very nice added feature!
The bronze as shownon their web site has a one-piece base then the 3/4" marble, but I like this one without the one-piece base and the much taller 2 piece marble base. This must be an older cast they have in their showroom as they said they would have to order one-10 days if I wanted the style shown on the web.
The postage was originally invoiced at 55 euros but I'm sure that was going with the 3/4" base, so if it runs a bit more for postage because of the larger base I'm still happy.

For those who were not aware, the original Colleoni bronze was sculpted by Andrea Del Verrochio.

Verrocchio was a painter, sculptor and draftsman who ran one of the largest and busiest workshops in Florence, in which many important artists were trained, among them- Leonardo da Vinci.

The larger than life ( height: 395 cm) bronze horse with Colleoni was just finished in it's clay model form for the casting when Andrea died (1488) , he was only 53.

I like this descriptive comparison text describing this bronze opposed to one by another sculptor:
In 1479 the Venetian authorities had decided to erect a monument to the mercenary Bartolomeo Colleoni of Bergamo who had died in 1475, leaving funds for an equestrian in his honour. He naively stipulated that it be sited in Piazza S. Marco, too prominent a place for this potentially dangerous symbol of power. Instead the authorities decided cleverly to put it before the remote Scuola di S. Marco. A competition was held and Verrocchio sent a life-size wax model of the horse in 1483. It was unfinished at his death in 1488, although he had completed the figure and horse in clay. In his will, he enjoined his pupil Lorenzo di Credi to finish it, but this responsibility was transferred in 1490 to the Venetian bronze caster Alessandro Leopardi (who designed the base and signed on the horse's girth).

Verrocchio s monument of Colleoni scarcely differs from older equestrian monuments which cities commissioned during the 15th century to honour the outstanding services rendered by their condottiere, such as Donatello's Gattamelata in Padua. Both depictions have a more or less similar position of rider and horse, derived from the most famous equestrian monument of the age, the classical Roman equestrian monument of Marcus Aurelius. The most obvious difference between these images of brute power resides in the torsion of Verrocchio's, Donatello's being confined to a plane.

Colleoni stands erect in his stirrups to regard his enemy in violent contrapposto, while his horse turns and raises one hoof without support. (Verrocchio's is technically more advanced.) His war machine, embodying belligerent force, is dressed in contemporary armour, whereas Gattamelata wears pseudo-antique armour. Donatello's image is calm, abstract, dignified and universal; Verrocchio's is specific, vigorous and dynamically active. The grimly determined visage with its furrowed brow, staring eyes and intense expression may have influenced the 'terribilità' of Michelangelo's David.

Verrocchio's Colleoni monument is aesthetically the most important equestrian statue of the Renaissance. Contrived with great technical assurance and modelled with power and sensitivity, it forms a fitting climax to Verrocchio's sculptural career.

Also:

The horse is designed with wonderful nobility and spirit, and the easy pose of the great general, combining perfect balance with absolute ease and security in the saddle, is a marvel of sculpturesque ability. Most remarkable skill is shown by the way in which Verrocchio has exaggerated the strongly marked features of the general, so that nothing of its powerful effect is lost by the lofty position of the head. According to Vasari, Verrocchio was one of the first sculptors who made a practical use of casts from living and dead subjects.
==


There's a book I just noticed, but the $200 pricetag scares me;

Item Number: 77051
Title: ANDREA DEL VERROCCHIO: Life and Work
Author: Covi, Dario A
Price: $199.00
ISBN: 8822254201
Description: Firenze: Olschki, 2005. 30cm., cloth, 398pp., 272 illus. Text in English. (Arte e Archeologia, Studi e Documenti, 27)

[Landseer]

I received this bronze today, it is pretty good quality, the patina is a bit on the stock/boring side and I almost think worth re-doing, possibly with a green verdigris like the one pictured on the left.
It weighs 9# and is quite detailed, espeically for it's size.

[RCFA-Raven]

As a consumer I prefer human over animal. I have no animal art in my home now and the only time I did was for my husband. I took them down when I realised he just didn't care what was hanging on the wall. lol! :D