Fire, Metal, Monument: Bronze
Jean Baptiste Carpeaux, Bust of Jean Léon Gérôme, ca. 1871. Bronze. SBMA, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Robert J. Emmons.
Jue Ritual Wine Vessel China, Shang dynasty, 12th-11th c. BCE Bronze. SBMA, Museum purchase, Special Asian Acquisition Fund.
Stupa (Chorten) of the Kadam Order, Tibet, 13th century. Bronze. SBMA, Museum Purchase made possible by the John and Peggy Maximus Fund.
Louise Bourgeois, C.O.Y.O.T.E., 1947-49. Bronze, painted pink, and stainless steel, ed. 5/6 + 1 AP. Private collection, courtesy Hauser & Wirth. (c) The Easton Foundation / VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS) NY; Photo Christopher Burke.
Tracing the story of bronze over three millennia and across three continents, this exhibition is about the metal alloy that inaugurated the Bronze Age around 3000 BCE and remains a vital medium for art today. Twelve objects taken from the Museum’s encyclopedic collection reveal how artists have worked in bronze over millennia, utilizing its ability to capture details and convey the illusion of movement. Shang Dynasty ritual vessels (12th-11th century BCE) and recent sculptures by Alison Saar and Louise Bourgeois bookend this episodic survey of a material that is both ancient and utterly contemporary.
