Waxing Eloquent: Italian Portraits in Wax

This catalogue analyses a field of art history that only recently has been given renewed attention with the translation in French (1997), English (2008) and Italian (2011) of Julius von Schlosser's History of Portraiture in Wax, originally published in German a century ago. The exhibit and the catalogue will present all life-size figures in wax present in Italy starting with the death masks in wax of the Venetian dogi (XVIII century), which were used as funeral effigies. The Book of Miracles, a XVII century manuscript illustrated in watercolours, documents the use of wax statues as ex-voto in churches. The heads of saints (12 Franciscan saints from the church of the Redentore in Venice) and criminals (8 manufactured in the late XIX century in Turin) will constitute another section. But the main section is dedicated to portraiture in wax and will see the presence of 7 busts and 2 full-size portraits of children, all from the XVIII and XIX century. Contents: Daninos: Wax Figures in Italy. A Brief History G. Guerzoni: Aureae Cerae: Production, Distribution and Consumption of Wax Artefacts in Modern Europe G. Ricci: Masks of Power. Funeral Effigies in Early Modern Europe E. Trevi: Written Waxes. Figures in Wax as Inspiration in Modern Literature Catalogue Entries Index of Names AUTHOR: Andrea Daninos has studied ceroplastic - the art of modelling in wax - for many years. He recently held a course on the subject at the University of Milan and he has edited and annotated the Italian translation of Julius von Schlosser's History of Portraiture in Wax (Milan: Officina Libraria 2011), the seminal book on the argument. Guido Guerzoni teaches Cultural Heritage and Art Markets at the Università Lugi Bocconi in Milan. His research interests are focused on the cultural and arts markets and his latest book has been translated into English in 2011 (Apollo and Vulcan: The Art Markets in Italy, 1400-1700, Michigan State University Press). Giovanni Ricci is professor of Modern History at the University of Ferrara. He is the author of several books on urban history, the real and perceived presence of the Turks in Europe, marginal strata of society and social mobility, and funereal rites and their political use. Emanuele Trevi is a literary critic and writer. He writes on a number of daily newspapers and has collaborated with RAI-3 Radio, one of Italy's national radio stations. He lives in Rome. SELLING POINTS: ?The first-ever exhibition and catalogue of wax portraits ?The huge number of visitors to Madame Tussauds in London proves the great interest there exists for this subject. Here we are looking at the roots of this important aspect of portraiture ILLUSTRATIONS: 40 colour R11 b/w