BATTLE GROUND, Wash. (KOIN) — The Pieta is one of Michelangelo’s greatest masterpieces. The original marble version is in Vatican City but the rights to reproduce it, full size in bronze and precious metals, reside in Battle Ground, Washington.

Foundry Michelangelo began in 2016 with Oregon fine art collector and dealer Mark Russo. This exclusive gallery rivals what you would see in New York Paris or Italy. So, why Battle Ground?

“Well, we live here,” said Jason Dilling with Foundry Michelangelo. “Most of us went to school here, and as I said, most large billion dollar companies start somewhere.”

A photograph taken on February 23, 2022 shows Michelangelo’s casts of so-called “Rondanini” Pieta (L) and the Vatican Pieta during a preview of the exhibition “The three Michelangelo’s Pieta” at the Cathedral Museum in Florence. – The Florence Cathedral Museum, owner of the original Pieta called “Bandini”, barely restored, has decided to exhibit these three works together for the first time, thanks to a loan from the Vatican Museums, casts of the Vatican Pieta and the so-called “Rondanini” Pieta. (Getty Images)

Now Foundry Michelangelo has the rights to 2000 images from 250 artists, giving it one of the largest collections of molds and bronze sculptures in the world.

“We’ve got the exclusive rights to a few different pieces from Michelangelo, from Benini, from Cellini,” Dilling said.

Among them is the work of the late Oregon master sculptor Lorenzo Ghiglieri, whose work is still sought after by popes, celebrities and presidents.

Ghiglieri’s popular “Presidential American Patriot” was reproduced in pure silver at Foundry Michelangelo.

His son, Laran, is also a Foundry Michelangelo artist. His intricate sculpture, Stagecoach Gold, depicts the perils of the Oregon Trail.

  • Oregon sculptor Laran Ghiglieri’s “Stagecoach Gold” epicts the perils of the Oregon Trail. (Undated courtesy photo, Foundry Michelangelo)
  • A bronze eagle piece of art at Foundry Michelangelo in Battle Ground (Undated courtesy photo, Foundry Michelangelo)
  • Full size reproductions of Oregon sculptor Lorenzo Ghiglieri art made at Foundry Michelangelo in Battle Ground (Undated courtesy photo, Foundry Michelangelo)

“We want to preserve that, use it as a history lesson, and that’s kind of what I’m doing with this artwork here,” said Laran Ghiglieri.

As more people see art as an investments, Foundry Michelangelo is growing fast. The company plans to reproduce the Pieta in pure silver, making it the centerpiece of a future private museum and event space called Museo Michelangelo. They hope to open that this summer.

“That will be the largest pure silver sculpture ever created in history,” Dilling said. “So it’s pretty exciting.”

Foundry Michelangelo plans to go public in the near future. The Initial Public Offering will finance an 18-acre campus in Battle Ground to include an art school, a foundry and a world-class sculpture garden.