Venice

CLAY SCULPTURE GALLERY or BRONZE GALLERY

FROM CLAY TO BRONZE - The Lost Wax Method
From a dull malleable block of clay to a finished shining bronze, the sculpture raises reborn like a phoenix from the fire.

The expertise and techniques of a sculptor are learnt over many years of hard work and learning, each new skill from the initial sketch or painting to the finished three-dimensional bronze sculpture is a new procedure that must be approached, understood and mastered.

Michel Rigel when he starts a new sculpture first visualises a three dimensional image in his mind, the vision, that takes place over a passage of time, is simplified as the final sculpture comes to light. Leonardo da Vinci mentioned this technique of visionary art.

In general Michel Rigel works in a bubble, isolated from the rest of the planet. The most difficult part is the feeling of isolation, time no longer exists and fortunately it fades rapidly, leaving only the consciousness of past times and the work done to fill the void.

THE VARIOUS STAGES OF PRODUCTION

The creation of a sculpture from the first sketches into a clay original before the bronze can be cast at the foundry includes may stages: mold making, wax pouring, cleaning, creation of the ceramic shell, casting, welding, sanding, patination and mounting to produce the final piece.

THE ORIGINAL
An original venice sculpture by Michel Rigel will either be made in stone, where the hammer and chisel are used or clay where an armature made of metal wire or wood is covered in clay before the artist’s hands and tools bring life and form to the malleable block of earth.

THE MOLD
There are different kinds of molds used by sculptors to cast the final work of art including silicone, fibre-glass, rubber, latex and polyurethane. If a small number (maximum 10 pieces) are to be made, a plaster mold can be used, but it will be unusable after the run.

Michel Rigel uses flexible rubber molds that are much more resistant than plaster and allows for a stronger draw so materials such as resin or mixtures of synthetic resin powder, steel, aluminium and the more complicated bronze can be cast.

MAKING OF THE 1st MOLD
To develop a mold a detailed study of the convex and concave parts of the sculpture must be taken before the creation of the mold can begin. This will enable the foundry to decide if the sculpture will be laid up or cut into moldable sections, which must be soldered together at the end of the process.

The primary venice sculpture is then sealed and coated in a release agent to minimize the damage to the artist’s original before the first coat of rubber is applied. This is left to dry before adding numerous layers of rubber while at the same time incorporating the essential guides that help to create the perfect alignment of the molds sections.

When the rubber has set, a release agent is then added before a second shell of fibreglass and resin is applied to protect the soft rubber mold from damage and deformation. When the fibreglass has hardened the mold is complete, all that is needed now is for the second shell to be opened, the rubber peeled back and the original sculpture removed.

THE WAX COPY
The rubber mold is then cleaned to remove any dust or other debris left behind by the original sculpture before being painted by hand with the preliminary coat of molten wax. The mold is then closed and rotated while wax is poured into the mold to create an even coating over the rubber. The mold is now left to dry before being broken open to expose the wax casting. A full cleanup of the wax casting is completed to remove any minor blemishes or air bubbles.

THE 2nd MOLD
The second mold or ceramic shell, it is more complex, since it includes the jets for the molten bronze and vents for the expulsion of gases and air bubbles produced during the casting process of the future bronze. The second mold is made by dipping the wax casting in ceramic or sand to produce the production mold this procedure is called slurry casting. The when dry cast is now ready for the final casting.

THE LOST WAX PROCESS
Since the Renaissance (1554), when Cellini's famous 3.20 m bronze of “ Perseus” the hero of Greek mythology was cast in Florence, the basic techniques have not changed. The mold is put into an electric or gas fired kiln to cure, leaving the wax to flow out of the mold, before the void is filled with molten bronze heated to 1200°C. The mold is then left to cool over a few days.

When the bronze has solidified the sculpture is knocked out of the sand mold before it is sanded and cleaned to remove any signs of the founders work, leaving just an identical vision of the sculptor’s original.

For the final touch the venice sculpture can be silver or gold plated using professional electroplating techniques, or finished using the patina technique where the sculpture is dipped in a mixture of chemicals. RIGEL sometimes uses ammonia to go from green to blue or black depending on the exposure time of the sculpture with acid. It is said that PICASSO urinated on the bronze to give them a patina. The sculpture is then polished and waxed.

THE FOUNDRY
Michel Rigel uses the Chardon Foundry situated at 21-23 rue des Filles du Calvaire in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris for his bronzes. This foundry has been running since 1878 and has kept the traditional techniques used by the founders of times gone by.

BRONZES ART
A law published on 8 March 1935 states that works of art sold under the name "bronze art" must be manufactured from a metal alloy, where 65 percent of the weight or more of the finished article is copper.

NUMBERING
When a "bronze art" is made it must include a hallmark of the foundry and the appellation regardless of the metal alloy. The artists signature and date of creation my also be added.
The foundry hallmark ( ie Suze, Chardon, Blanchet-Landowski and Chapon) is very important as its reputation can add great prestige to the piece.

APPELLATION

Original:
12 copies made of four "artist test" pieces numbered: EA I / IV, EA II / IV (Roman numerals). 8 other copies numbered 1 / 8, 2 / 8 etc in Arabic numerals are then processed.

Multiple:
The amounts are determined by the artist: 1 / 100 or 1 / 300 etc. The amount predetermined by the artist may in no case be increased even in other alloys.

Single:
Only one copy marked "PU" unique piece, no artist test pieces are in existence.