If you had the ability and years of training to take a block of wood or stone and turn it into a sublime piece of art, you too could have been employed by the church, the royal court or by a monied patron. Talented sculptors were usually in high demand and one could count on regular and continuing employment if one had the skill and techniques required. Here are many who did.
a Danish neoclassical and royal history painter, sculptor, architect, and professor of painting, mythology, and anatomy at the New Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen, Denmark. Many of his works were in the royal Christiansborg Palace (some destroyed by fire 1794), Fredensborg Palace, and Levetzau Palace at Amalienborg. Abildgaard had studied at the Ac...
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a Danish neoclassical and royal history painter, sculptor, architect, and professor of painting, mythology, and anatomy at the New Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen, Denmark. Many of his works were in the royal Christiansborg Palace (some destroyed by fire 1794), Fredensborg Palace, and Levetzau Palace at Amalienborg. Abildgaard had studied at the Academy from 1764 to 1767, then worked there as apprentice, and moved to Rome in 1772–1777, where he studied sculpture, architecture, decoration, frescoes (at Palazzo Farnese) and murals. He returned to the Academy in Copenhagen, promoted to professor in 1778, and elected as Academy Director during 1789–1791 and 1801–1809. He was also assigned as a royal artist/decorator during 1780 to 1805. Abildgaard was married twice, in 1781 and 1803.
Born in Saccarappa, ME. Trained on wood (Maine) and plaster casting (Boston). Wrote articles about art for The Atlantic and The Crayon magazines. Worked in Maine and Rome. Won the Commemorative Silver Medal in 1854. Married in 1860. Died in Philadelphia, PA from tuberculosis, age 35.
noted for his works on and in various churches of Brazil. Within a very short time he had become a noted architect himself and had designed and constructed the Chapel of the Third Order of St. Francis of Assisi in Ouro Preto. He had also executed the carvings on the building, the most notable being a round bas-relief depicting St. Francis receiving the stigm...
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noted for his works on and in various churches of Brazil. Within a very short time he had become a noted architect himself and had designed and constructed the Chapel of the Third Order of St. Francis of Assisi in Ouro Preto. He had also executed the carvings on the building, the most notable being a round bas-relief depicting St. Francis receiving the stigmata.
a Venetian Dalmatian architect and sculptor born in Durazzo (Albania Veneta), considered one of the most distinguished artists of Dalmatia. Alessi was born in Durazzo (modern Durrës, Albania) in Albania Veneta, and may have been of local Albanian origin rather than Italian. Other sources say he was of Italian origin. He moved to Split in Dalmatia during the...
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a Venetian Dalmatian architect and sculptor born in Durazzo (Albania Veneta), considered one of the most distinguished artists of Dalmatia. Alessi was born in Durazzo (modern Durrës, Albania) in Albania Veneta, and may have been of local Albanian origin rather than Italian. Other sources say he was of Italian origin. He moved to Split in Dalmatia during the Republic of Venice, where he studied under sculptor Mark Troja. He lived most of his life and conducted much of his work in Dalmatia. Alessi was a disciple of Giorgio da Sebenico.
a Hungarian sculptor. His sculptural style integrated elements of classicism and romanticism. Alexy is perhaps most famous for his series of field marshal sculptures which he began in 1844. He did plan a sculpture of "King Matthias" of Hungary but it did not prove to be successful. In 1845 he worked on sculptures for the Hermina Chapel in Budapest.
an Italian high-Baroque sculptor active almost exclusively in Rome. After a short residence in Venice, he went to Rome in 1625 with an introduction from the Duke of Mantua to the late pope's nephew, Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi, who employed him for a time in the restoration of ancient statues. Algardi's first major commission came about in 1634, when Cardinal...
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an Italian high-Baroque sculptor active almost exclusively in Rome. After a short residence in Venice, he went to Rome in 1625 with an introduction from the Duke of Mantua to the late pope's nephew, Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi, who employed him for a time in the restoration of ancient statues. Algardi's first major commission came about in 1634, when Cardinal Ubaldini (Medici) contracted for a funeral monument for his great-uncle, Pope Leo XI, the third of the Medici popes, who had reigned for less than a month in 1605.
a French sculptor who tempered a neoclassical style with Rococo charm and softness, under the influence of his much more famous brother-in-law, Jean-Baptiste Pigalle. His single most famous work, a marble Bather, was commissioned for the royal residences through the Bâtiments du Roi in 1755.
an Italian architect and sculptor. He was more distinguished in architecture than in sculpture. Later in his life he had a religious crisis, influenced by Counter-Reformation piety, which resulted in condemning his own works depicting nudity, and he left all his possessions to the Jesuits.
an English sculptor and illustrator, influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites. In the late 1850s Armstead was commissioned to make a statue of Aristotle in Caen stone for the Museum of Natural History in Oxford. After this he increasingly concentrated on sculpture rather than metalwork.
a German plasterer and sculptor active during the period of the Late Baroque. Born in Tegernsee, Bavaria, Asam worked mainly together with his brother, the architect and painter Cosmas Damian Asam. Because of this, their common work is often attributed to the Asam Brothers. Asam died in Mannheim. The Asam Brothers, singularly and together, were very prolific...
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a German plasterer and sculptor active during the period of the Late Baroque. Born in Tegernsee, Bavaria, Asam worked mainly together with his brother, the architect and painter Cosmas Damian Asam. Because of this, their common work is often attributed to the Asam Brothers. Asam died in Mannheim. The Asam Brothers, singularly and together, were very prolific artists.
a German plasterer and sculptor active during the period of the Late Baroque. Born in Tegernsee, Bavaria, Asam worked mainly together with his brother, the architect and painter Cosmas Damian Asam. Because of this, their common work is often attributed to the Asam Brothers. Asam died in Mannheim.
an early American sculptor and inventor. He was a self-taught sculptor and, unlike many other 19th-century sculptors, did not travel to Europe, but spent his entire career in New Haven. He switched to marble later in his career, being among the first native born Americans to do so.
