The Art of Sculpture in Fifteenth-Century Italy

Fifteenth-century Italy witnessed sweeping innovations in theart of sculpture. Sculptors rediscovered new types of images fromclassical antiquity and invented new ones, devised novel ways tofinish surfaces, and pushed the limits of their materials to newexpressive extremes.The Art of Sculpture in Fifteenth-Century Italy surveysthe sculptural production created by a range of artists throughoutthe peninsula. It offers a comprehensive overview of Italiansculpture during a century of intense creativity and development.Here, nineteen historians of Quattrocento Italian sculpture chartthe many competing forces that led makers, patrons, and viewers toinvest sculpture with such heightened importance in this time andplace. Methodologically wide-ranging, the essays, speciallycommissioned for this volume, explore the vast range of techniquesand media (stone, metal, wood, terracotta, and stucco) used tofashion works of sculpture.They also examine how viewers encountered those objects, discussvarying approaches to narrative, and ponder the increasingcontemporary interest in the relationship between sculpture andhistory.