The exhibition is shown in the halls of the Academy of Arts 25 November 2023 – 24 February 2024. Albert France Lanord has designed the exhibition architecture. In connection with the exhibition, a catalog of the Art Academy’s collection of plaster sculptures is published, with texts by Eva-Lena Bengtsson, Elisabet Tebelius-Murén, Christina Risberg, and Svante Helmbaek Tirén.
For centuries, drawing and modeling from casts was an important part of artistic education. With plaster copies of famous sculptures and works of art, students were given both technical skills and schooling in an artistic ideal marked by ancient Greece and Rome. Eventually, the art of the Renaissance and later times was also included as an example – before the plaster casts finally lost their importance. During the 20th century, they turned into symbols of a rigid view of art and almost completely disappeared from teaching.
Today, the role of plaster in art history is being rediscovered. Both as teaching material and expression of changing ideals, they give us a close contact with the art experiences of history. The choice of casts used in the teaching reflects the flow of visions and traditions – as well as conflicts and debates – that have continually shaped the art. In the exhibition, the collection is presented with new perspectives and food for thought about the importance of plasters.
