North Light Studios

I thought, because of my lack of posting, and the fact that's it's already December, that I would round things out for the year with the sculpture of the Staglieno Cemetery in Italy. I've already talked about several of the sculptures there (Bistolfi and Monteverde), but would like to continue because there are some amazing and awe-inspiring works there that I haven't touched on yet. First, a tiny bit of history. The Staglieno Cemetery is in Genoa, Italy, which is on the gulf of the Liguarian Sea in Northern Italy (waaay north of Rome). The full name for it is the Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno. The original design was made when Napoleon declared that no one should be buried in churches or towns anymore. It really was a work-in-progress for many years, constantly changing men-in-charge and adding expansions. There are many family tombs here, mostly rich people who could afford to hire artists to create monuments for them. At least they spent their money on something...

Now that it's less than ninety degrees outside, I am feeling that I can bear sitting at the computer and doing some intellectual and fun stuff. For instance, talking about Leonardo Bistolfi, another fantastic sculptor born in Casale Monferrato in Piedmont in 1859. In 1876 he enrolled in an art academy in Milan before delving into full-time sculpture. Fallen Thanks to Wikimedia for the pic! Caduti is a beautiful and touching memorial. I like to think this woman is the guardian of the Fallen (literal translation), those who have gone before us, who have died protecting us. This is a war memorial at Casale Monferrato, and this woman foregoes two angels carved in stone beneath an archway. This figure can tell us so much from her gesture and expression, something different and meaningful for each of us. I see someone who is both frustrated and happy, someone who is seeking freedom and coming into happiness after sorrow. I love the hair and fabric on this piece. Gorgeous! Ce...

The first time I saw a statue by Giulio Monteverde it stole my breath. As I watched my husband scroll through images of his sculpture on Google yesterday, I knew he was the next sculptor I was going to talk about. He was born in the very small province of Bistagno, Italy, and attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. He was also a senator, but I think that's the least of his achievements. The Boy Columbus, from Wiki Commons The first piece I want to talk about is The Boy Columbus. It's obvious at first glance that Monteverde has a way with subtlety and form that knows how to just ignite your interest and imagination. Columbus has been caught in a moment of formulation, as if he's staring at a point he can't really see because he's concentrating on something else entirely. Thought This next piece, called Il Pensiero which translates in English to Thought , is a striking and powerful multi-figure sculpture. An allegorical masterpiece with a glimpse at one...

It's so hard to pick sculptors. There must be a thousand Italian sculptors alone to choose from, and I'm just taking a bite out of the last few centuries with that number. During my searches, my husband suggested Vittorio Caradossi , a sculptor from Florence. He was born in 1861, died in 1918. That's about as much as I know about him, unless you count his work. Thanks to the ARC for this pic! This piece, called Shooting Stars , is an elegant piece. It's design suggests a reaching for the heavens. An amazing marble piece of two young women depicting the epitomy of graceful, stretched from their toes to their hair, which is flowing upward. Picture thanks to Portuguese Wikipedia   This sculpture is not only fun, but thought-provoking. Woman With A Mirror is a marble sculpture that is actually attached to a mirror. Another elegant and graceful pose. What I like about these statues is his use of drapery. It's very well done, rivaling Bernini's detaile...

Screeeee! This is what I sound like when I get excited. And what am I excited about, you ask? That today I'm covering one of my favorite pieces - and sculptors - of all time, Antonio Canova. I'm so tempted to put up a pic of the best first, but you know...last the best of all the game, right? Restraining myself with every fiber of my being, the first thing I will do is introduce you to Canova.   This is a self-portrait of Canova from  Wikipedia  (at first I thought, hmm, he's kind of handsome in his own right, but when I saw another less-attractive painting of him thought he must've been portraying himself in a flattering light). Canova was born in the Republic of Venice, his father died before he was three and his mother remarried and left him with his grandparents, which turned out to be a good thing, because they were loving and kind people. After Canova spent his early life studying, he got to work. When nine years had passed, he learned the art of stone car...

It seems that every year, about half-way through, I lull. There is a huge gap in my blogs from about May to the end of the year. And this year, I didn't even start until March. Is it any wonder that my email used to be slacker_a? While scrolling through favorite statuary, I came across Apollo and Daphne , and my eyes lit up. Maybe this story is so intriguing to me because I have a sister named Daphne. Or maybe the statue itself is what drew me in. Apollo, who has been hit by those tricky arrows that belong to Eros (a.k.a. Cupid), wants Daphne so badly that he won't give in to her refusals. Daphne detests Apollo, and begs her father for help in getting away from him. The way I see the story - and many others as well - is that Apollo was about to deprive Daphne of her virtue, and so her father turns her into a Laurel tree. She is still a living thing, and though not a human, has escaped Apollo's grasp. From Wikipedia This sculpture by Bernini is, in effect, enthrallin...