Patinated and Oxidized
Metal surfaces coloured by chemical change, from the green of weathered copper and bronze to rust and foundry-applied patinas.
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About
Patina is the skin that forms on metal as it reacts with air, moisture or chemicals. On copper and bronze it can turn brown, black or green; on iron it becomes rust. Some patinas grow slowly outdoors, like the green coat the copper Statue of Liberty acquired within a few decades of its unveiling in 1886. Others are applied in the foundry, where patineurs brush heated metal with acids and salts to produce controlled browns, greens and blues.
Sculptors treat patina as part of the work. Renaissance bronze makers such as Antico imitated the dark surfaces of excavated ancient statuettes, and Auguste Rodin's bronzes received carefully chosen finishes. Weathering steel, designed to form a stable layer of rust, gave 20th-century sculpture and architecture a warm, changing surface. Look for colour that follows the form, gathering in recesses and wearing thin on raised areas that have been touched or polished.
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