Creating a sculpture from a noble metal such as bronze is one of the oldest techniques in art history. The technical steps used now are the same as those that the Greek sculptors in Antiquity have applied (Lost-Wax Bronzecasting, n.d.).
The lost-wax casting is the oldest known method for sculpting metal. The first examples of this are the gold artefacts found in Bulgaria’s Varna Necropolis, dated from 4550 BC.
First is model making. It can be an original sculpture made of clay, wax, additives of oil or resins, etc. Sometimes, the model can also be made out of plaster, a technique the French sculptor Auguste Rodin often used.
Rodin not only preferred to work on a plaster model but would also use one original figure to develop many different models (Rodin’s Lost-Wax Casting Process – NCMALEarn, n.d.).
Rodin, Auguste. Several Venus models | Musée Rodin, Paris | Image Source
Angelina Tsvetkova at work, photo by Dorothea Komitska for Fortelier
The wax models for lost-wax casting are often used in jewellery creation. The soft material allows for the creation of tiny and thin details.
Based on the model made out of a softer material, the sculptor creates a mould out of a rigid material, such as plaster. At this point, the model is covered.
Mould in plaster over a wax model for a ring | Image Source
Mould in plaster over the print of a plaster model | North Carolina Museum of Art, 2017 | Image Source
Once the plaster is ready and applied very meticulously to avoid air bubbles, the whole object is placed in an oven. The wax melts from the heat and leaves a cavity in the desired shape inside the plaster mould. In the case of bigger pieces and plaster models, the model is covered with a thin layer of wax, gelatine, or silicone. After that, the mould is applied around this layer. Once the whole object is in the oven, again, the soft layer melts and leaves a gap between the model and the mould.
It is important at this point to also prepare the mould with a network of pipes for the metal to be poured in later. Many technical possibilities are available for the creation of the mould. The point is to create a thin gap between the model’s shape and the final mould.
The mould, together with the pipe network, is covered with thicker material, and the whole element is placed in an oven again. This creates a protective layer around the coming melted metal (Bronze Casting Process – Lost Wax — ModernArts, n.d.).
Each artist will choose a specific alloy of metals depending on the result they want to achieve. Once ready and melted, the metal is poured into the pipe network and lies in the gap left by the previously melted wax. The success of this process is determined by the perfect execution of the previous steps.
Casting process | Wikimedia | Image Source
Sculpture before chasing process | North Carolina Museum of Art, 2017 | Image Source
After the metal is cold and the mould can be opened, the sculptor obtains a piece with technical elements from the necessary pipes. Removing them carefully so no trace is left is called chasing.
All the previous steps, the purely technical ones, after the creation of the model and after chasing, are rarely done by the artist. In the case of Rodin, for example, he worked with several assistants or brought models to foundries.
The artist is the one who will apply the final touches to the sculpture. They will work on the texture and the patina to achieve different metal colours.
Nikola Kolev, photo by Todor Todorov for Fortelier
Victor Pavlov in his studio, photo by Dorothea Komitska for Fortelier
Certain creations require artists to be highly knowledgeable of various crafts techniques, physics, and chemistry. They are only possible with the mastery of several crafts and the harmonious work of the artist and their assistants.
Among the artworks presented by Fortelier and showcasing such mastery are the sculptures of Nikola Kolev, as well as the jewellery pieces of Angelina Tsvetkova, Victor Pavlov, and Nikolas.
Militza Ganeva is trained in Art History at the Ecole du Louvre in Paris, as well as in Conservation and Restoration of Paintings at La Cambre Academy in Brussels. She currently works as a painting restorer at the National Gallery in Sofia, where she resides after spending many years in Paris, Brussels, and Malta.
Her interests lie in the connections between restoration and science, and she is actively involved in several interdisciplinary studies of artworks. She is also passionate about the development of the contemporary art world and constantly seeks its intersections with history, politics, and global social evolution.
In addition, since 2022, Militza has been contributing to the organization of concerts in Sofia and participating in book editing projects on the side.
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