Bronze Cast of Il Spinario

This episode of Object Matters host Dr Craig Barker is joined by Italian renaissance historian Dr Kathleen Olive to discuss Il Spinario, or the ‘Boy with Thorn’. 

Il Spinario is one of the most famous works of bronze to survive from the Hellenistic-Roman world, a depiction of a young boy contemplating a thorn as he removes it from the sole of his foot. The ‘original’ ancient bronze is now in the Palazzo del Conservatori in Rome. The Chau Chak Wing Museum is home to a bronze copy of the Roman statue produced by the Fondere Artistiche Riunite in the early 20th century. Between ancient Rome and 20th century Australia, the statue, and its many copies both ancient and modern, has inspired artists and storytellers. Kathleen and Craig discuss the long history of the bronze statue of the boy and its influence on the Renaissance and modern worlds and why the statue has become so popular.

Guest: Dr Kathleen Olive is a popular educator on Italian art, history and culture, and presents on these subjects at the Italian Institute of Culture, Sydney, the Art Gallery of NSW and across Australia as a national lecturer for the Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Society. For many years, she has led cultural tours to Italy, France, Spain and Japan, and she is an honorary research fellow in the Department of Italian Studies at the University of Sydney.

Host: Dr Craig Barker, Head of Public Engagement, Chau Chak Wing Museum and Director, Paphos Theatre Archaeological Excavations. Follow @DrCraig_B on Twitter and Instagram.

Object details: Bronze cast of Il Spinario (The Thorn-Puller), produced by the Fondere Artistiche Riunite, Naples, Italy in the early 20th century [NM2008.27]

The discussion also covers a photograph in the collection of a copy of Il Spinario in marble in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney photographed by Kerry & Co. between 1890-1915 [HP83.60.119]

The image is of its 3D recorded form accessible via Sketchfab.