<p>The Italian artist Medardo Rosso (1858-1928) is a key figure in the development of modern sculpture. His portraits and figure studies have long been considered sculptural equivalents to Impressionism's concern with light at the expense of form. This insightful book-the first comprehensive study of Rosso's art-presents an artist more deeply concerned with materials, process, and the reproduction of his works than previously imagined. Rosso's fascination with technique is explored in detail from art historical, technical, and phenomenological perspectives. Drawing on a wealth of new archival material and close-up study of the sculptures, the authors show that Rosso's waxes-his best-known works-were not modeled by hand but cast with the help of gelatin molds. The authors compare wax, plaster, and bronze casts of the same subjects to show that the manipulation of materials for visual effect was at the heart of his work. The book also reproduces and analyzes Rosso's fascinating photographs of his own sculpture, which offer important clues to the charged relationship he sought to create between viewers and the mysterious busts and figures he made.</p>

Medardo Rosso: Second Impressions

Arts & Photography

Harry Cooper

Sharon Hecker

Henry Lie

Derek Pullen

Individual Artists

Harvard Art Museums

<p>This book is the first scholarly account of how lost wax casting was forgotten and rediscovered around the world thanks to transmission of know-how by Italian founders in the late nineteenth century. Against this backdrop, Medardo Rosso, an Italian sculptor living in Paris, overturned rules of the technique through creative approaches to serial reproduction. His unusual casts prefigured experiments in casting in the modern era. The volume includes art-historical essays by distinguished scholars on the revival of lost wax casting in different countries and a case study of Rosso's Bambino ebreo series, including scientific analysis and conservation studies.Podcast interview with Sharon Hecker about this book: <a href="https://blog.brill.com/humanitiesmatter/sharon_hecker_finding_lost_wax.html" target="_blank">#HumanitiesMatter - Remodeling a Lost Wax Technique: The Methods of Medardo Rosso (brill.com)</a>.</p>

Finding Lost Wax The Disappearance and Recovery of an Ancient Casting Technique and the Experiments of Medardo Rosso (Studies in Art & Materiality)

History & Criticism

BRILL

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Books by Sharon Hecker