Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Bronze Bombshell

December 14, 2008 by Marion Maneker

A Celebration of the Renaissance Sculptor Andrea Riccio

Christopher Benfey has his usual engaging take on the Andrea Riccio show at the Frick. Here’s a taste from the Slate slideshow:

Renaissance sculptors relied on religious commissions as well as secular ones; Riccio’s masterpiece is generally considered the elaborate, multitiered Easter candelabrum that he crafted in 1516 for the Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padua, Italy. The monumental, 12-foot-tall candlestick, intended (according to Frick curator Denise Allen) to celebrate “Christian salvation as the triumphant culmination of pagan religions,” is a bizarre fusion of a few dutifully presented Christian scenes surrounded with cavorting pagan satyrs and centaurs. Maybe a gigantic candlestick can’t avoid being phallic, but the frisky resurrection that Riccio was celebrating doesn’t seem particularly Christian. We can get a sense both of the drama he could give to religious motifs and of his aesthetic daring in this high-relief frieze [pictured left] of the New Testament story of the Roman soldier Martin, tearing his cloak in two in order to share it with a well-muscled beggar in the road.

Andrea Riccio’s Intricate Universe (Slate)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Leonardo’s Battle of Anghiari Provokes Unexpected FightLeonardo’s Battle of Anghiari Provokes Unexpected Fight
  • Singapore Previews New Gallery HubSingapore Previews New Gallery Hub
  • New Collector Drives Chinese Snuff Bottles to Record PricesNew Collector Drives Chinese Snuff Bottles to Record Prices
  • What Does That Bubble Study Say?What Does That Bubble Study Say?
  • Transformative Tate Modern Needs TransformationTransformative Tate Modern Needs Transformation
  • Hunk & Moo Anderson’s Art Comes to Christie’sHunk & Moo Anderson’s Art Comes to Christie’s

Filed Under: Museums

About Marion Maneker

LiveArt

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor
 

Loading Comments...