Abstract
Plaster played an important part in making sculpture available to wider society in Renaissance Italy. This article examines painters’ and sculptors’ uses of the material, and how these may have predisposed them towards the production of art works that were accessible beyond the social elites. It discusses the making, selling, and perception of the major types of works in plaster, including Virgin and Child reliefs, casts after works by others, and secular all’antica compositions. Plaster was not the only material in use for these types of work, but its versatility and widespread use in sculptors’ and painters’ workshops gave it a particularly important role in the production of affordable art works. The article moves on to consider briefly architectural stucco decoration, garden sculpture, and the use of plaster in the context of ephemeral architecture and sculpture.
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