Annunciation of the Virgin by the Angel - Mochi

We just learned about the Neptune by Charles Antoine Coysevox.

Another famous Baroque sculpture is the Annunciation of the Virgin by the Angel by Francesco Mochi in Orvieto Italy in 1605.

This is actually a pair of statues, showing the story of when the angel Gabriel came to Mary to tell her she was going to give birth to the baby Jesus.

The statues can be seen from all sides, and are set apart from each other, with the statue of Mary showing her jumping out of her chair in shock from the sight of the angel.


(from: wikipedia - francesco mochi)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Arch of Constantine

Neptune - Coysevox

We just learned about the St. Cecilia - Maderno.

Another famous Baroque sculpture is Neptune by French sculptor Charles Antoine Coysevox in 1702.

Coysevox was a great sculptor even at the young age of 17, and sculpted many things throughout his life.

He was known for creating very detailed sculptures, like Neptune.

(from: wikipedia - antoine coysevox)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ara Pacis

St. Cecilia - Stefano Maderno

We just learned about the statue Fontana della Barcaccia by Pietro Bernini.

Another famous baroque sculpture was St. Cecilia by Stefano Maderno in 1599 AD.

St. Cecilia was a martyr from the time of the Roman Empire, which means she was an innocent person who was killed, and people looked at her like a hero.

The story says that when she was killed, she had three fingers sticking out on her left hand, and 1 finger on her right hand.
This was to show her belief in the Holy Trinity belief of three in one, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The sculptor Stefano Maderno was a famous Italian sculptor in the Baroque time, after Michelangelo and before Bernini.

(from: wikipedia - stefano maderno)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Capitoline Brutus

Fontana della Barcaccia - Bernini

We just learned about the sculpture of Saint Bibiana by Bernini.

Another famous Baroque art sculpture is the fountain Fontana della Barcaccia by Pietro Bernini in 1629 in Rome.

This fountain is in the shape of a sunken boat with water flowing all over the sides.

There was a legend of a river flooding 1598 and carrying a boat into this plaza and leaving it there when the flood waters went away.
This fountain was made based on that story.

Pietro Bernini is the father of the famous sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini.


(from: wikipedia - fontana della barcaccia)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Trajan's Column

Saint Bibiana - Bernini

We just learned about the Medal of John VIII Palaeaologus by Pisanello.

Another sculpture called Baroque style is the sculpture of Saint Bibiana by artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1624.

The sculpture shows St. Bibiana standing in a robe holding palm branches.
Her mouth is open and she's looking at the skies, and her face and body positions show lots of feelings.

The Baroque style had sculptors trying to show more movement and energy in sculptures, many times reaching outward, and usually viewable from the front sides and back.
In the past a lot of statues did not have much to look at on the back or sides, because they were supposed to be up against a wall so no one would see that side.
Baroque style a lot of times was a statue in the middle of a fountain, so all sides were sculpted.

Bernini was a very famous sculptor in the Baroque style, and some people even feel like he was the one who invented the style and made it popular.


(from: wikipedia - saint bibiana (bernini))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus

Medal of John VIII Palaeologus - Pisanello

We just learned about the Madonna and Child by Francesco Laurana.

Another famous Renaissance sculpture is the Medal of John VIII Palaeologus by Pisanello in 1439.
It is like a coin about 4 inches wide.
The picture is of the Eastern Roman Emperor John VIII Palaeologus.
The words on the coin say "John, king and emperor of the Romans, the Palaeologus"

Pisanello was also known as Antonio di Puccio Pisano or Antonio di Puccio da Cereto.
He was the first to start making medals like this of famous people like the Emperor, and this is believed to be the first one made during the Renaissance.
After he made this, many other people started making medals, but Pisanello was thought to be the best one.



(from: wikipedia - medal of john viii palaeologus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Alexander Sarcophagus

Madonna and Child - Laurana

We just learned about the sculpture of David by Donatello.

Another Renaissance art sculpture is the Madonna and Child made by Francesco Laurana in 1471 AD.

Francesco was a very famous sculptor during this time, and his style was a little different than many of the other artists at the time, including his scupltures work that changed after he moved to work in France.

(from: wikipedia - francesco laurana)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lady in Blue

David - Donatello

We just learned about Leonardo's Horse.

Another famous Renaissance art sculpture is David by Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi in the early 1400s in Florence.

Donatello was a very famous sculptor, and the marble sculpture of David is the first job that he was given for an important sculpture.

There is another statue of David that Donatello made out of bronze that was also very famous, party because no one else was making standing statues of bronze at the time.

Both statues are of a young David who does not look very strong, standing above a defeated Goliath who looks very strong.
This is supposed to show that David's strength was in God, not his own body.

(from: wikipedia - david (donatello))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Athena Parthenos

Leonardo's Horse

We just learned about the Equestrian Statue of Bartolomeo.

Another famous Renaissance sculpture is Leonardo's Horse in Milan in 1482.
Leonardo Da Vinci was working on a large sculpture of a horse, and he built a model out of clay but it was destroyed in a war before it could be made into a metal statue.

His notes and drawings for how to make the horse were saved, so a few people have made real copies of the sculpture.


(from: wikipedia - leonardo's horse)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Poseidon of Melos

Equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni - Verrocchio

We just learned about the statue of Christ and St. Thomas, by Andrea del Verrocchio.

Another famous sculpture by Andrea del Verrocchio is the Equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni made in Venice, Italy in 1488 AD.

When the noble person Bartolomeo Colleoni died, he had left some money for a statue to be made of him.
There was a competition between three sculptors who had to make samples of what they wanted to put up, and Andrea del Verrocchio won the competition.

He made the statue to be like the famous Donatello statue The Equestrian Statue of Gattamelata.

The statue is made to look like a very strong and powerful military commander.


(from: wikipedia - equestrian statue of bartolomeo colleoni)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Statue of Zeus at Olympia

Christ and St. Thomas - Verrocchio

We just learned about the Cantoria bu Luca Della Robbia.

Another famous Renaissance sculpture is the bronze statue of Christ and St. Thomas, sculpted by Andrea del Verrocchio in 1483 in Florence.

These statues tell the story of Christ when the Apostle Thomas doubted that Jesus had risen from the dead, and said he would only believe if he saw him with his own eyes.

The statue shows Christ standing confident and strong, and Thomas looking very nervous and embarrassed.

When it was sculpted it was made to be seen only from the front side, so the back is not sculpted.
This helped make it easier to do, and also saved on using up bronze.

(from: wikipedia - christ and st. thomas (verrocchio))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Elgin Marbles

Cantoria - Luca della Robbia

We just learned about the Gates of Paradise.

Another famous Renaissance sculpture is the Cantoria organ loft in the Cathedral of Florence, sculpted in 1438 by Luca della Robbia.
These marble sculptures showed a group of people singing and dancing and making music to praise the Lord, in the words of Psalm 150 from the Bible.

The Psalm says to praise God with the trumpet, harp, lyre, timbral, dancing, strings, pipe and cymbals.
This sculpture shows people doing all of these different things to praise God.


(from: wikipedia - luca della robbia)


(from: wikipedia - luca della robbia)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jockey of Artemision

Gates of Paradise - Ghiberti

We just learned about the famous sculpture Judith and Holofernes by Donatello.

Another Renaissance art sculpture is the Gates of Paradise by Lorenzo Ghiberti in Florence Italy in 1401 AD.

These doors are at the Florence Baptistry, and have ten different panels, each one of them carved to show a story from the Old Testament in the Bible: Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac with Esau and Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

When Michelangelo saw these doors with golden carvings on them, he called them the "Gates of Paradise", and everyone always called the doors by that name.

Ghiberti also made another set of doors for this church that showed scenes from the New Testament.


(from: wikipedia - florence baptistery)


(from: wikipedia - lorenzo Ghiberti)


(from: wikipedia - florence baptistery)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Moschophoros

Judith and Holofernes - Donatello

We just learned about the Renaissance sculpture of David by Michelangelo.

Another famous sculpture from this time is Judith and Holofernes by Donatello in 1464 in Italy.

This sculpture was different because it was meant to be looked at from all sides, not just the front.
It is a sculpture of a woman named Judith.
In the story of Judith, there was a man named Holofernes who was the leader of an army that wanted to kill her people.
She tricked him into thinking that she liked him, and then when he was sleeping she killed him to save her people and stop the war.

Some people from the town of Florence look at this story as an example of a humble servant winning the battle against a wicked person full of pride.

(from: wikipedia - judith and holofernes (donatello))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Winged Victory of Samothrace

David - Michelangelo

We just learned about the Tomb of Pope Julius II.

Another Renaissance Art sculpture is David by Michelangelo in Florence, in 1504 AD.

This is a sculpture of David from the Bible, and the eyes of David are looking toward Rome, as a way to defend the city of Florence from other stronger cities.

The sculpture is 17 feet tall and made of marble.


(from: wikipedia - david (michelangelo))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Peplos Kore

Tomb of Pope Julius II - Michelangelo

We just learned about the Pietà by Michelangelo Buonarroti.

Another Renaissance Art sculpture is the Tomb of Pope Julius II by Michelangelo.

Michelangelo had great plans to build a gigantic three story wall with 40 statues in it, but sadly he was told to make it a lot smaller and only put in a few statues.

The most famous of his statues in this tomb is a large almost 8 foot tall Moses sitting and holding the tablets of the Ten Commandments in his one hand.
In this sculpture Moses has horns on his head, because when Moses came down from the mountain after seeing God, his face was enlightened, and some people thought that meant he had horns on his head like rays of light pointing to heaven.
Michelangelo was so proud of his sculpture of Moses that when he was done he hit it on the knee and shouted "NOW SPEAK" because it looked so lifelike almost like it was real.

There are also statues of the sisters Rachel and Leah next to Moses.

The other sculptures above Moses were made by another sculptor.



(from: wikipedia - tomb of pope julius ii)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sphinx of Naxos

Pietà - Michelangelo Buonarroti

We just learned about the Bamberg Horseman.

Another famous sculpture is the Pietà by Michelangelo Buonarroti in 1498 AD.
Michelangelo is one of the most famous Renaissance art sculptors of all time.
The Renaissance was a time when many artists from all over the continent of Europe got together and worked to share and create many masterpieces of art and music.

The word pietà means pity, and this is a sculpture of Mary the mother of Jesus sadly holding him on her lap after he was crucified.



(from: wikipedia - pietà (michelangelo))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Charioteer of Delphi

Bamberg Horseman

We just learned about the Holy Thorn Reliquary.

Another Gothic Art sculpture was the Bamberg Horseman, made in Germany around 1225 AD.

This is a statue of a man riding a horse, and the man is either a king, emperor or saint, but no one knows for sure who it is supposed to be, because the history of it was lost or forgotten.

There were many statues of people on horses long ago, but for a long time people had stopped making statues like that until the Bamberg Horseman was made.

It is also one of the first statues to show the bottom of a horse's foot wearing a horseshoe.

Underneath the front part of the statue where the horse is standing is a sculpted face that looks like a man's face made out of leaves.
This type of sculpture is sometimes called the "Green Man" and can mean a lot of different things like respecting nature, the growth of spring, or maybe even mythological creatures.


(from: wikipedia - bamberg horseman)


(from: wikipedia - green man)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Block Statue of Pa-Ankh-Ra

Holy Thorn Reliquary

We just learned about the Casket with Scenes of Romances.

Another Gothic art sculpture is the Holy Thorn Reliquary.

In the year 1239 AD, King Louis IX of France bought what he believed was the crown of thorns that Jesus wore on the cross.
Through the years later, the other Kings of France would give thorns from that crown as gifts to people.

One of the thorns that was sent out around 1400 AD was put into a special holder called a reliquary, made of gold, enamel and jewels.
This reliquary is about a foot tall, and weighs about 3 pounds.

The thorn is in a case behind a crystal window, and there are gold and enamel sculptures all around it, with jewels like sapphires decorating it.
The way the enamel sculptures are made is called ronde-boss, which means "in the round".
Enamel is shaped over top of gold or other metal sculptures, to look like a real rounded figure instead of just flat enamel.

The front is a sculpture of the Last Judgement, and shows God, some angels, a Dove for the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ with a crown of thorns, John the Baptist, the Virgin Marry, and smaller sculptures of the twelve apostles.

There is a scroll above it with the Latin words "Ista est una spinea corone / Domini nostri ihesu xpisti" which means "This is a thorn from the crown / Of Our Lord Jesus Christ"

On the back is a medallion with the face of Christ in a sunburst, above two doors.
On the left door is the archangel Saint Michael, spearing the devil, shown as a dragon.
On the right door is Saint Christopher, carrying Christ as a small child on his shoulders.





(from: wikipedia - holy thorn reliquary)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ka Statue of Hor

Casket with Scenes of Romances

We just learned about the Virgin and Child from the Sainte-Chapelle.

Another Gothic art sculpture is the Casket with Scenes of Romances, made in Paris, France around the year 1340.
This is a small box made out of elephant tusks called ivory, where a royal person could have kept their special things like jewelry.
It is about 5 inches tall and 10 inches wide, and 5 inches deep.

The carvings on the casket are of a bunch of Romantic stories from history, like Sir Lancelot, or Tristand and Iseult.



(from: wikipedia - casket with scenes of romances (walters 71264))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Pendant of Osorkon II