August 6, 2012 |
ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS: BRONZE
Although we’re going for gold, as team GB are currently ranked third in the Olympic leader board, we’re starting to see the power of that third most precious of materials- bronze. Coincidentally, post London 2012 the Royal Academy are hosting a show dedicated entirely to the extraordinary array of objects wrought in this material, throughout history, and in various different cultures. Spanning 4,000 years and several continents. Pouring through press preview material this morning, we couldn’t help being drawn to the enclosed for rather obvious reasons. Admiring the Roman copy of an Athlete from a Hellenistic original, and Acrobat from 1600, we can’t help but imagine what it’d be like if todays athletes competed as they did in ancient times. Those lycra outfits leave little to the imagination as is! Bronze:15 September – 9 December 2012
Athlete: Photo © 2011, Scala, Florence, courtesy of the Ministero Beni e Attività Culturali. Acrobat: Jörg P. Anders © 2011, Scala, Florence/BPK, Berlin
by Vincent Levy
