Patina

A sculpture almost never maintains its original bronze colour, which is the natural surface of the metal; instead, almost always, what is known as ‘patina’ is used: this is not a surface colouring or painting, but rather it is the product of a controlled chemical reaction. Many different results can indeed be made by patination, as can be seen in these examples.

‘Violata Pax’ by Nall is a fine example of how to achieve different tonalities of patina on one work of art, working on the single parts with acids which produce completely different results: from the white of the feathers to the red of the blood and to the high polishing of the beak and eye.