If a tree trunk is carved and painted in an artist’s workshop, is it imbued with human qualities?
Relatively cheap and locally available, wood was a practical choice for sculptures, but also may have been favoured for symbolic reasons. As a living substance and the material from which the True Cross was made, it was often chosen for depictions of saintly men and women important to the Christian tradition.
Wooden sculptures in Italy were primarily made from poplar, limewood, and walnut. A few sculptures were also made from cork (a related substance made from the bark of a tree). However, this was less common. These species were chosen due to their suitability for carving and expected durability. Artists working in wood used one of two techniques to create their pieces- roughhewing or assembly. Roughhewing involved hollowing out a tree trunk from the back and removing its heartstone, or interior. Alternatively, the assembly process consisted of gluing several thin planks of wood together to create a form. Both of these methods were practiced in order to avoid splinters and cracks as the sculpture aged.
All wood sculptures in this period were completely covered in brilliant colours. Wood needed to be prepared prior to the application of paint (typically achieved by applying gesso, a substance made from powdered gypsum, and animal glue). If this step was not taken, colour would not adhere to the surface. This layering technique was integral to Renaissance workshop practices.
This exhibition sub-section exemplifies the sheer diversity of wooden sculptures, including a reliquary bust, a full-bodied, free standing depiction of a saint, fragments of an altarpiece and a crucifix. Together these works allow us to explore a religious tradition that uses diverse materials and techniques to provide a message of faith, humanity, and life after death.
Victoria Bowen, Queen’s University
Matteo Civitali, Reliquary Bust of St. Anastasia
Neroccio and Vecchietta, Entombment and Assumption of the Virgin
Antonio del Pollaiuolo, Crucifix
Select Bibliography: G.M Helms, “The Materials and Techniques of Italian Renaissance Sculpture” in Looking at Italian Renaissance Sculpture (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988); John T. Paoletti, “Wooden Sculpture in Italy as Sacral Presence” in Artibus et Historiae 13:26 (1992): 85-100; Anne Markham Schulz, Woodcarving and Woodcarvers in Venice, 1350-1550 (Centro Do, 2011); Christina Neilson, “Carving Life: the meaning of wood in early modern European sculpture” in Christy Anderson, Anne Dunlop and Pamela H. Smith, The Matter of Art: Materials, Practices, Cultural Logics, 1250-1750 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2016.)
Locating the Materials of Italian Renaissance Sculpture 