WP3: Post

Pieta by Bruno Lucchesi is a sculpture made in the 1970s. It consists of the scene of a dying man in a bed and a young girl draped over the bed. This sculpture is very similar to the original Pieta by Michelangelo. This version is of Mother Mary holding the deceased Jesus after his crucifixion. Between the two sculptures there is a reversal of roles: in the original Pieta the younger subject is dead while in the Pieta by Bruno Lucchesi the older subject is dead.

The name of both pieces, Pieta, means sorrow. This is shown in both sculptures through the sorrow of death. I feel that this title fits well for both pieces. The types of sculptures that Bruno Lucchesi makes are those similar to the Renaissance times. The realistic ways of both sculptures and the attention to detail shows this. Bruno Lucchesi is very familiar with this type of sculpture because his work is inspired by Italian/ European inspiration. Much of Bruno Lucchesi’s works are similar to the sculpture Pieta. Along with his influences from Italy, Bruno Lucchesi was inspired by a sculptor he met while he was a shepherd.

Going on a tangent from the biography of Bruno Lucchesi and his work, I wanted to focus on the material in which this sculpture was made from: Bronze. Bronze is used in many sculptures, including the one I am analyzing: Pieta. Bronze is ideal for sculptures because they have a very desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling in the finest details of a mold, something that is very important for such a realistic piece such as Pieta. The bronze is also very important for Pieta because of its strength. This sculpture was made to be outside, so the sculptor, Bruno Lucchesi, needed to keep in the mind how it would weather. This is why bronze was chosen.

Overall, there are a lot of background aspects that I should include in my analysis of this sculpture (and will  )!

WP3: Analysis Part 2

In my most recent visit to my sculpture, I analyzed the material in which sculpture is made of. I had never really thought about the material of my sculpture, which is bronze, in any other way other than just what it was made of.

Bronze is a very strong, hard metal. It is interesting to compare the material the sculpture is made of to the actual form of the sculpture. My sculpture is a very “soft” form in the way it is presented. The bed looks soft and plushy by the way the bodies are “sunk” into it and the way the blankets and pillows crease. However, upon the touch of the “bed” it is hard and stiff. This sculpture gives the impression of reality, but it preserved by the bronze of the metal.

It is also interesting how the reality of the sculpture had its effect on me. My last visit I focused a lot of just trying to connect with my sculpture on more of a personal level, to help deepen understanding. Upon looking at the old, deceased woman I just kind of reached out and touched her fragile, veiny hand. It was really cold. For someone like me who has an experience of losing a loved one, this instantly struck up memories. It was like the chill of death I felt when I touched my grandfather’s hand in the hospital the day he died. This was the first true sympathetic emotion I felt with my sculpture.

The bronze that is used for this sculpture is much different than the material that was used in the original Pieta by Michelangelo. Even though marble was used in the original, both versions have similarities in the way the subjects look and the emotions that are felt. Along with the difference in material, the construction of these sculptures differs as well. The original Pieta was made of solid material. My sculpture, when looking underneath, looks as if it was constructed first with some form of molding material and not out of solid bronze. The molding looks to have then been coated in a bronze material thereafter. This gives the impression from the front/top portion of the status of it being pure, solid bronze. But it isn’t! I found this very interesting. I feel that this was needed (the bronze coating) to help preserve the sculpture for outside conditions such as where it is.

I plan on including the material in which this sculpture is made of in my letter; I feel it’s very important. It’s preserving a moment in time.