The Art of the Embodied Soul: An Introduction to Sculpture at The Courtauld Institute of Art

An introduction to sculpture, which has a reputation as a difficult art. It can engage the beholder in profoundly physical ways that frame thoughts before they are even formed. The course explores the sensory and intellectual appeal by examining sculptural techniques, the significance of materials, texture, and colour, and a fascinating mythology that ranges from the automatons of Hephaistos, to the tales of Pygmalion and the Golem. Drawing on the ideas of writers like Pliny, Herder, and Rosalind Krauss, it investigates different ways of thinking about sculpture. Above all, it listens to the voice of the sculptor. Cellini, Hildebrand, and Louise Bourgeois, for example, have all spoken about their art.