Sculptures

What we most often understand by sculpture are the greco-roman statues, Michelangelo's Pieta or Rodin's Bourgeois de Calais, that is to say marble or bronze. in these pages you will find plaster, clay, wood, glass, cotton, metal, mixed elements. We took plastic art in volume as the definition of sculpture. It might be utilitarian such as my CD racks or simply decoration.

Carrara

Short history

A small industrial shop

Sculpting shop

Sculptures

CD racks

Shy chair

Wall table

Dining High

Romeo

continue

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Carrara

View of mountain and quarries

The Carrara marble quarries have been exploited since more than 2000 years. Carrara marble is very famous for the statuary quality, used by all the most famous sculpturers in the world ( Michelangelo, Canova, etc.). The first peak of extractive activity was in the roman period, during the imperial age the demand for Carrara marble rose since it became the most requested building stone for public buildings.

View from the village of Colonnata

at times the open quarries appear as it were a glacier

it could be an alpine village

Since then Carrara was a synonymous of marble and its marble was requested worldwide for buildings, statues, objects, etc. Till now, about one million tons of Carrara marble are quarried each year a simple stone as compared to what the mountain reserves.

Production in roman times was slow. Slaves cut marble blocks with hand saws at a rate of 1 cm a day. Until modern times little technical progress was done. Cubic marble blocks of up to 10 tons were cut and then carted down the mountain to the port of Carrara where they were shipped to destination.

Cutting a block

Transport

Monument to miners, Colonnata

Modern machines are used nowadays, heavy lorries transport the blocks down to the shops that will cut them or shape them into statues.

click here to continue and see manufacturing

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

The Industry of marble

Views of a small shop

Cutting machine

continue to see sculpture shop

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

A sculpture shop

Part of the basin of a fountain in the making

Different colour stones are stuck together

Finishing touches of one piece

In yellow, the model of a bigger statue

On the left, the marble block in which the art piece is being sculpted

Craftsman sculpting

Arist starting on a piece

Photo of plaster model

In foreground the plaster model of a hand

The artist sculpting the hand on marble

Working it smooth by hand

I'm starting to chip with a power chisel

back

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-