CLASSICAL INFLUENCES IN MANHATTAN

CLASSICAL INFLUENCES IN MANHATTAN  New York City gallery Carlton Hobbs is presenting the selling exhibition Inspired by Antiquity: Classical Influences on 18th and 19th Century Furniture and Works of Art from January 20 through February 14.  Among its 40 objects are a group related to Thomas Hope (1769–1831), the collector and designer who revolutionized British taste during the Regency period (1788-1830).  Highlights include a pair of wall lights in the form of griffins (lion-bodied eagles), a center table from the Garden Pavilion at Buckingham Palace, and a mahogany botanical table in the form of an ancient basin on stand.  The opening reception on January 19 will benefit London's Sir John Soane's Museum and feature a talk by its director, Tim Knox. Information: Carlton Hobbs, 60 East 93rd Street, New York, NY 10128, 212.423.9000, www.carltonhobbs.com Image: Unattributed Wall light in the form of a griffin c. 1802, Bronze, 12 1/2 x 7 1/2 x 14 in. Carlton Hobbs, New York City

Michelangelo's statue of David

A masterpiece of Renaissance art describing the idealized human form.

Some interesting notes on the subject...

He was 26 when he started work on the 18 foot high block of marble and built a shed around it to work in and barely left the shed until it was complete. He did not make a maquette (model) first. Imagine being able to visualize a full figure in a block of marble with no practice piece. He carved it out of the marble, taking away small pieces to reveal the shape.

 

It is interesting to note that the slab he chose had lain out in the courtyard near the cathedral from nearly a hundred years, abandoned after previous unsuccessful attemps to carve it into a figure by an earlier generation of artists. He had no assistants, but attacked the marble with energy, working continuously for several days and nights, not leaving it, but sleeping near it on the floor.