The Star Fortress

Some three hundred copies can be viewed here spanning from replicas of relics from Archaic Greek art all the way to the most well-known pieces of sixteenth-century sculpture. The exhibition in Komárom consists of two large units: the building of the former barracks inside the fortress, which was converted into an exhibition space, and the hall with a high ceiling, which was built in the inner courtyard. One part of the old fortress’ linearly arranged spaces accommodate the casts of ancient Graeco-Roman sculpture. Here you will find copies of outstanding works such as the famous ancient sculpture, the Calf-Bearer, the classical work of Praxiteles, the Hermes and the Infant Dionysos, the Hellenistic Aphrodite of Melos (Venus de Milo) and the Roman Laocoön group. The replicas of medieval and Renaissance pieces, exhibited in the rest of the spaces of the former barracks, allow an insight into the history of Renaissance sculpture, primarily through the copies of works by Florentine artists such as Donatello, Luca della Robbia, and Michelangelo. The large hall in the fortress’ inner courtyard houses copies of monumental Renaissance works, including the equestrian statues of Gattamelata by Donatello and of Bartolomeo Colleoni by Andrea del Verrocchio. The pedestal of this latter equestrian statue is the only replica of the original in the world. Also visible here is a copy of the gilded bronze gate of the Baptistery in Florence, made by Lorenzo Ghiberti and named the Gates of Paradise by Michelangelo.

Many of the exhibited plaster casts were made over one hundred years ago, with moulds taken directly from the originals. Very precise copies can be made from plaster, since the material faithfully maps all the details and forms of the original. Upon their arrival in the Museum of Fine Arts in the early twentieth century, decorative painters finished the surface of the replicas to conjure up the appearance of the original works and lend an exceptional aesthetic quality to the pieces. Besides the exhibits themselves, traditional and digital presentations provide ample information on the depiction of the works and on the making of plaster casts.