Inside the Workshop

There was no lone genius. A top sculptor ran a busy workshop — he might design the figure and carve the face, while assistants shaped the drapery, hair, and base.

Bronze demanded an even bigger crew. The lost-wax process passed a single statue through sculptors, mold-makers, metalworkers, and polishers in turn. One life-size bronze meant months of labor and a fortune in metal. That cost is exactly why so few originals lasted — a thread we pick up later.