Bronze Imitation
The practice of painting a sculpture made of another material to look like bronze.
What is it?
Bronze imitation is when artists paint terracotta, wood, or plaster to look like bronze. They use dark brown paint and add gold highlights to mimic the shiny metal. This was common during the Renaissance because bronze was expensive and difficult to cast. The bust of a Roman emperor was originally painted this way. The child's reflection notes that the bust was painted with dark brown lacquer and gold speckles to imitate bronze, but the paint was later removed because modern people prefer the natural terracotta color.
Why it matters
Bronze imitation shows how artists created affordable versions of expensive bronze sculptures. It also shows that people valued the look of bronze even when they couldn't afford the real thing.
Where you've seen it
This list grows as you capture more objects made with bronze imitation.