Sculpture 3: Material - method and meaning

In the third of four talks in which we look at sculpture more, we will consider the very materials from which sculpture is made. Traditionally, 'High Art' insisted on marble or bronze but anything - and I mean anything - has been used to create sculpture. This includes the above, of course, but then there is also wood, clay, wax, plaster, etc, etc, etc. We will look at the way in which these materials were handled - i.e. the methods by which sculptures are made - as well as why the artists chose which materials they used: what does this material mean? Niccolo dell'Arca, pictured, was named after a tomb he created from marble, but he was, as the detail shows, a genius with clay. We will also look at the wide array of materials used by Donatello, and, yet again, Bernini!