Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Italian Terracottas from the 17th century

Antonio Giorgetti
Head of an Angel
1668
terracotta
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Antonio Raggi
Bust of Apollo
before 1686
terracotta
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

"The representation of the natural falsifies situations. Something passes as natural precisely when it conforms perfectly and without apparent effort to accepted models, to the habits valorized by a tradition (sometimes recent, but in force). The age when it seemed natural for young people to act modestly, to keep quiet, to behave with discretion, respect, and imitate superiors, is not long gone . . ."

 Henri Lefebvre (1992)

Ferdinando Tacca
Roman in Armor
before 1686
terracotta
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Ercole Ferrata
Genius with portrait medallion
ca. 1670-85
terracotta
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Ercole Ferrata
Angel with Cross
1668
terracotta
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Paolo Naldini
Angel with Crown of Thorns
1669-70
terracotta
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

"NO to spectacle no to virtuosity no to transformations and magic and make-believe no to the glamour and transcendency of the star image no to the heroic no to the anti-heroic no to trash imagery no to involvement of performer or spectator no to style no to camp no to seduction of spectator by the wiles of the performer no to eccentricity no to moving or being moved."

 Yvonne Rainer (1965)

Melchiorre Cafà
Lion
1660s
terracotta
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Melchiorre Cafà
Angel
ca. 1663
terracotta
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Melchiorre Cafà
Personification of Justice
1660s
terracotta
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Melchiorre Cafà
St Andrew of Avellino
1660s
terracotta
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Melchiorre Cafà
St Andrew the Apostle
1660s
terracotta
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Dance in pitch dark.
Ask audience to light a match if they want
to see.
A person may not light more than one match.

– Yoko Ono (1961)

Jacopo Lavaggi
Allegory of Hope
ca. 1686
terracotta
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Filippo Parodi
Putto with skull
ca. 1690
terracotta
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

 Italian sculptor working in Rome
Cupids wrestling
ca. 1650-1700
terracotta
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

 quoted utterances from Dance (2012) edited by André Lepecki, published by Whitechapel Gallery in the series Documents of Contemporary Art