The della Robbia family created extraordinary polychrome, lustrous terracotta sculptures, tondos, freizes and other architectural ornaments throughout the 15th century in Renaissance Florence. Three generations, Luca, nephew Andrea and his son, Giovanni, ran a workshop famed for their innovative techniques of glazing terracotta pieces, deemed a “new, useful, and most beautiful” way of adorning buildings sacred and secular. Many of their pieces grace museums around the world; they are a delight to enjoy.
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Camille Claudel, so talented, so heart-wrenching /
Camille Claudel lived in Nogent sur Seine as a teenager, and from there, she was launched into her career as a sculptor, her talent carrying her to Auguste Rodin’s studio and into another complex world. The recently-opened Museum in Nogent sur Seine holds an important number of her sculptures, and offers a fascinating glimpse into the world of late 19th and early 20th century French sculptors.
Read MoreArt that Stands the Test of Time /
Every artist must at least occasionally have moments of doubt about whether work being created will stand the test of time or whether it will even be appreciated by other people. It is inevitable, I suppose, given that most creative ventures are fairly solitary. You work away at your desk, your potter's wheel, your easel, your sculpture table, your musical score, your ballet bar or whatever the work might require. Your vision and your passion, you hope, carry you forward to creating something that is good, worthwhile, meaningful to others. And something that will stand the test of time.
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