‘Masculinity’, a bronze sculpture by G. Mangeleer.

This small but powerful figurine exudes masculinity. The person pictured is standing in a confident stance leaning on his muscular legs. This figurine was made by the teacher artist G. Mangeleer on Friday March 13, 1992 when the Zottegemse Academy of Visual Arts celebrated its twentieth anniversary. For this festive occasion, this bronze statuette was cast in a series of 50 numbered copies in the studio of sculptor J. Tahon. This figurine is therefore monogrammed with G.M. (G. Mangeleer) and bears the number 15 of the 50 copies.

Bronze

Bronze sculptures are often called simply a ‘bronze’, just because this metal is used most for sculptures. The choice for bronze arises from the desirable and advantageous assets of expanding a bit before it sets. In such this way, the finest details of a mould will be filled with bronze to create the best sculptures. Even more advantage is the property of shrinking when it cools, making it easier to separate from the detailed mould. A number of distinct casting processes are used for making bronzes. Lost-wax casting, sand casting and centrifugal casting are the most used casting methods.

Nowadays, bronze is still a precious metal and could easily be stolen to be melted down. During the first and second world war, a lot of sculptures were melted down to make weapons or ammunition. Luckily a generous number of sculptures were preserved in museums and in private collections. Possibly the first bronze ever made (and preserved) dates back from 2300-1750 BCE and it is held by the national museum in New Delhi.

Many different bronze alloys exist. The most common alloy for bronze is 88% copper and 12% tin. Classic and statuary bronze consists mostly of 90% copper and 10 % tin. The term bronze is tending to be regarded in museums and replaced in descriptions as ‘a copper alloy’, mostly seen for older objects.