Study Models of Parts of the Body c. 1560 - 1570

This is a bronze study model of a muscular arm, made by Johan Gregor van der Schardt in the late 16th century. Bronze casting is an indirect process. The artist likely made the initial form in wax, and then covered it in a heat-resistant material like plaster. After melting out the wax, he would have poured molten bronze into the resulting cavity. The mold would then be broken away, and the bronze refined through chasing and polishing. The inherent qualities of bronze – its weight and strength – suggest permanence, ideal for a lasting impression of power and virility. But this arm is also a fragment, cut off above the bicep. Perhaps the artist made it as a practice piece, in preparation for a larger sculpture. Or it may have been intended as a teaching aid; it’s worth remembering that anatomy was becoming an increasingly sophisticated field of study at this time. Whatever its original purpose, the arm stands as a testament to the sculptor’s skill, and to the power of bronze as a medium.