Corpus (sculpture)
Encyclopedia
A sculpture
of the body of Christ
by Gian Lorenzo Bernini
. Bernini sculpted it from bronze
in 1650 and held onto it in his private collection for 25 years.
Corpus had gone missing for a long time and was in the hands of a French collector who thought the artist unknown.
After being recorded in the Perugia region of Italy circa 1790, it had been "lost" for over 100 years, until it surfaced in Venice in 1908. Later it fell into private hands in the U.S. But at that point it was misidentified as a work from the school of Giambologna.
It was not until 2002 that it was recognized as a Bernini. And it took until 2005 for the provenance to be definitely and directly linked to Bernini.
Bernini made three sculptures named "Corpus". One belongs to Spain
, part of the Spanish royal family's official collection. The other went missing during the Napoleonic wars
.
In January 2007 Toronto
real estate developer Murray Frum negotiated to buy the sculpture from an art dealer in the United States and donated the sculpture to the Art Gallery of Ontario
.
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
of the body of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
by Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age and also a prominent architect...
. Bernini sculpted it from bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
in 1650 and held onto it in his private collection for 25 years.
Corpus had gone missing for a long time and was in the hands of a French collector who thought the artist unknown.
After being recorded in the Perugia region of Italy circa 1790, it had been "lost" for over 100 years, until it surfaced in Venice in 1908. Later it fell into private hands in the U.S. But at that point it was misidentified as a work from the school of Giambologna.
It was not until 2002 that it was recognized as a Bernini. And it took until 2005 for the provenance to be definitely and directly linked to Bernini.
Bernini made three sculptures named "Corpus". One belongs to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, part of the Spanish royal family's official collection. The other went missing during the Napoleonic wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
.
In January 2007 Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
real estate developer Murray Frum negotiated to buy the sculpture from an art dealer in the United States and donated the sculpture to the Art Gallery of Ontario
Art Gallery of Ontario
Under the direction of its CEO Matthew Teitelbaum, the AGO embarked on a $254 million redevelopment plan by architect Frank Gehry in 2004, called Transformation AGO. The new addition would require demolition of the 1992 Post-Modernist wing by Barton Myers and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg...
.