Cultura Spettacoli
Marinelli, Michelangelo Artfully Reproduced
November 9, 2010
“From now until January 10, 2011 there will be eleven bronzes that the [Marinelli] Artistic Foundry has reproduced from the masterpieces of the genius of Caprese.”
The tradition of the Marinelli Artistic Foundry has been continued for three generations with the manufacture of famous artifacts, from the fusion in bronze by the Porta Santa of Saint Peter’s in the Vatican, dating back to the jubilee in 1950, to the spiral staircase giving access to the Vatican museums. Relating to our city, I will mention the Bacchus by Giambologna at the Ponte Vecchio, the Boar of Pietro Tacca at the Mercato Nuovo, and the four figures on the base of the Perseus di Benvenuto by Cellini in the Loggia dei Lanzi. These Florentine replicas that we have now been accustomed to seeing, have helped to protect the original works of art.
These works of art are done by a group of craftsmen that still work in the traditional ways. They create life-size reproductions of sculptures that represent an integral part of the story of our country. Over the years such work has become increasingly valuable and precious, because of the need to use old casts, which cannot be easily found nowadays because they were taken from the originals. The casts can be seen at the Marinelli Artistic Foundry in Poggibonsi. The production of the Marinelli Foundry has its particularly significant moments, which include the life size reproductions of masterpieces by Michelangelo, including: Saint Peter’s Pieta, already on display at the Casa Buonarroti in April of 2007. One piece particularly appreciated by the public was the Bronze reproduction made by the same Foundry of the Bruges Madonna and Child, which was exhibited in the museum last year.
The previous successful exhibits convinced the Casa Buonarroti to host, from now until January 10, 2011, eleven bronze replicas of the masterpieces of Michelangelo. In the courtyard of the museum they will place the impressive Moses and the Medici Madonna from the New Sacristy, whose marble original is undoubtedly one of the highest peaks of his artistic career, while in the exhibition rooms on the ground floor the visitors may admire a large number of works from his youth, including, The Madonna della Scala to the end of his life with his tragic The Rondanini Pieta.
The Florentine exhibition will be accompanied by three original documents belonging to the Buonarroti Archives regarding the details of the Bacchus, the New Sacristy and the Moses figure on the Tomb of Pope Julius II, which will be the central focus. The documents will help us understand and unwrap the work of Michelangelo, from the quarry to the finished works of art, and how much suffering Michelangelo endured from the “tragedy of the tomb” of Julius II.
New Renaissance Art, an American company, commissioned the Marinelli Artistic Foundry to create the bronzes. They will take the works of art all over the world and have organized a traveling exhibit in the United Sates called “The Michelangelo Experience Tour.”
The exhibition is accompanied by a booklet with news and information about the original marble statues by Michelangelo.