Pain and despair and also hope portrayed Michelangelo in his early history of mankind: the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. When he created this Vault between 1508 and 1512 the main proponents of the High Renaissance and pioneer of Mannerism as a sculptor and painter played a central role in the artistic and intellectual life of Italy.

Michelangelo Buonarroti was born in 1475 in the Tuscan Caprese. He was educated by the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio, the sculptor may at Bertoldo di Giovannis being the study of the Antiquities of great influence.

From 1496 to 1501 Michelangelo in Rome was active, where among others the "Pietà" for St. Peter's was built. Untill 1504 he worked in Florence at the monumental statue of "David", which is still the closely relation to the ancient world. The following sculptures mark the transition to the Mannerism.

In 1505 Michelangelo was commissioned for the tomb of Pope Julius II, but only after the death of 1513 in reduced and could be completed as the obstinate artist without the client agreement. Until 1516 the "bound slaves" and "Moses" emerged. As an architect he should be working for the Medicis, but could not do the planned construction and developed design principles, which started in 1521 in the staircase of the Laurentian library in Florence. From 1534, Michelangelo lived in Rome.

Michelangelos works are characterized with religious theme and architectural plans such as the construction of St. Peter's Church or of Palazzo Farnese. We can learn a lot through his letters and sonnets about Michelangelo, who died in 1564.

An alloy of copper with other metals (especially with tin) used since ancient times.

Bronze casting:

When casting bronze, artist usually applies the lost-wax technique which is dating back more than 5000 years. It's the best, but also the most complex method of producing sculptures.

Sculpture "The Book Reader" by Ernst Barlachs is shown here as an example:

First, the artist forms a model of his sculpture. It is embedded in a liquid silicone rubber composition. Once the material has solidified, the model is cut out. The liquid wax is poured in the negative mould. After cooling down, the wax casting is removed from the mould, provided with sprues and dipped into ceramic mass. The ceramic mass is hardened in a kiln, and the wax flows out (lost mould).

Now we finally have the negative form, into which the 1400 ° C hot molten bronze is poured. After the bronze had cooled down, the ceramic shell is broken off and the sculpture comes to light.

Now the sprues are removed, the surfaces are polished, patinated and numbered by the artist himself or, to his specifications, by a specialist. Thus, each casting becomes an original work

For lower-grade bronze castings, the sand casting method is often used which, however, does not achieve the results of more complex lost wax technique in terms of surface characteristics and quality.

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Sand casting