Il restauro della statua bronzea del San Matteo di Lorenzo Ghiberti da Orsanmichele in Firenze

Il restauro della statua bronzea del San Matteo di Lorenzo Ghiberti da Orsanmichele in Firenze

With the restoration of Ghiberti’s St. Matthew statue completed, all the theories previously introduced in another article are now confirmed: a few details -the letters on the Gospel book, the eyes, the inscription on the base- are in silver, while the cape hem had mordant gilding; from the first failed attempt at casting the statue , as already reported by contemporary records- the lower part was probably kept, on which the wax model for the higher one was built . A different percentage of copper was used in the bronze for this second casting, as to reach a higher melting point and avoid wielding. Still the temperature was probably not very high: inside the statue there are some traces of dirt mixed to the fabric used for the model.

2005

in OPD restauro, n. 17, pagg. 47-70

Article

Italian

Francesco Calamai, 23/10/2020

Annamaria Giusti, 01/03/2021