Masters Revisited

Old Masters’ Revisited

  Pompeo Coppini. Triumph of Peace.

by :   Karen Markley
West Texas A & M University
Dr. Von Lintel
September 29, 2010

      Pompeo Coppini   came to the United States   from Rome in 1896. He studied fine arts in Florence Italy, his art work   the “Triumph of Peace”   is a plaster relief in series featuring the goddess   Peace and Mars god of war.   The total work is in three parts.   Each work   is mounted on the wall at eye level approximately five feet from the floor.   Each is displayed in its own glass case and is about one -third   of a life sized sculpture.   There is canned lighting in the ceiling along with track lighting   with dedicated spots shining down on the work.   The sculpture relief stand out in a contrasting sepia color against the muted gray tone wall. The sconces on either side of the work provide ambient lighting that softly frame the piece.   The work is on the second floor of the Plains Panhandle Museum on   the west side of the hallway between two entrances of a room flanking the artwork.
    The plaster has a practical and esthetic quality,   is both   rugged and smooth while maintaining the organic feature of stone, however, it is   lighter and much less expensive than marble.   The plaster has been cast, a process where a mold of clay or wax the artist has carved and shaped. This gives the artist a preview of what the end product will look like.   The plaster is poured into the mold which fills the negative space and is cured.   The mold is removed and the art work is now ready to be finished by the artist perfecting and finishing the   art with sculptors tools and paint. The medium is durable yet can not weather the elements like stone and must be protected.
        The total art work contains three dimensional figures that project out from the relief.   The smooth life-like muscular forms are in realistic poses suggesting   rhythmic   motion. The gazes, body position and   interaction between the subjects draw you in...