Studies in Netherlandish Art and Cultura The Modeller: Adriaen de Vries in Search of the Viva Figura, Book 19, (Hardcover)

"In these days the most famous modeller" this is how the Dutch sculptor Adriaen de Vries (1556-1626) was characterised in 1621. A virtuoso modeller, De Vries explored new ways to enliven his art. His bronze sculptures were made in a radically new, sketchy style, with free figure compositions and a vigorous treatment of human anatomy, often balancing on the border between realism and distortion. <br> This book explores how and why a Late-Renaissance sculptor broke so drastically with the prevailing stylistic paradigm of his time, in search of <i>vivezza</i>, natural liveliness, and the <i>viva figura</i>, the statue on the brink of coming to life. Adriaen de Vries aimed to create sculptures that move in the metaphorical no-man's land between death and life, back and forth from inert bronze to apparent vitality, as this study will argue.

• Studies in Netherlandish Art and Cultura The Modeller: Adriaen de Vries in Search of the Viva Figura, Book 19, (Hardcover)
• Author: Brill
• ISBN: 9789004737327
• Format: Hardcover
• Publication Date: 2025-08-06
• Page Count: 402