The Commission - WorkDoc

Background information on The Commission project

Every block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.(Michelangelo)

In this series, a young sculptor receives an anonymous commission for a statue of a muscular athlete. Based on a series of photos he received beforehand and after approval of his sketches for the project, the artist starts carving out the virile shapes of the athlete from a massive block of white marble. During this slow and painstaking process, he gradually falls in love with his own creation. 

NOTE: You can download a PDF version of this WorkDoc at the bottom of this post. This was made by Andrea, and you can find a complete version of his beautiful project on the Priapus Encyclopedia page.

An ancient theme in many forms

This theme is, of course, from Greek mythology, best known from Pygmalion and Galatea in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The myth reflects the ancient Greek view of the ideal woman (a great beauty, but without any character or personality), and another common theme in Greek mythology: the equation of physical beauty with perfection. The statue’s flawless physical appearance suggests that it's the embodiment of a perfect human being.

The myth of Pygmalion and his sculpture has appealed to many artists over the centuries, perhaps because the myth speaks directly to the act of artistic creation. The theme, its parallels, and reinterpretations can be found in countless paintings, sculptures, and all sorts of literature throughout the ages.  

In more recent times, it can be found in comics, stage plays, films, and many TV shows. Best known are, of course, Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion and the stage musical My Fair Lady. But the idea can also be traced in Pinocchio, Hitchcock's Vertigo, Disney's Hercules and even in Star Trek’s Next Generation. So, to work with such a rich theme that has been around for so long is indeed a very inspiring and exciting idea. 

Marvels in marble 

For those who have been following my projects, it cannot come as a big surprise that sculpture is a big inspiration for my work. I’ve always been fascinated by this form of art, especially by the masterpieces from the Classical, Renaissance, and Baroque eras. Although I have seen many of them during my travels over the years, the works of artists like Michelangelo, Bernini, Canova, or Rodin - just to name a few - still take my breath away each time I see them again.  

One of the most amazing sculptures I have ever seen is one called “Release from Deception” by the Genoese sculptor Francesco Queirolo. It can be found in a lavishly decorated chapel in Naples, and it shows a fisherman being released from a net by an angel.

It’s not so much the artistic qualities of the work, but the astonishing way it was carried out that makes it so amazing. At first glance, this net that covers the man appears to be composed of intertwined rope, but a closer look reveals that the open-mesh material is made entirely from a single block of marble! According to legend, Queirolo did the carving entirely on his own, for no one else dared to touch it. I can imagine why, and no wonder it took him seven years to fabricate this amazing marble net.

The project and its settings

In my version, Pygmalion is a young blond hunky artist, specialised in copying classic sculptures, who works in an old rundown building. Although he has the looks, I imagine he is somewhat solitary and lonely, so when he starts to shape his own Galatea, he begins to fall in love with the image of the perfect man he’s creating.

For the settings of this short story, I only (re)used several models: The Orangery, The Green Room, The Streets of Old London, and a model called Abandoned Home Sweet Home. All these helped to create the somewhat rundown classical building for the Academy of Arts, where our artist has his atelier. It’s a large, bright space, with high vaulted windows and a glass roof. The location on the top floor is probably not the most convenient place for a sculptor working with heavy blocks of marble, but I couldn’t resist using a staircase I had created sometime before. 

The sculptures are all 3D scans from originals made available through the Scan the World project; the characters and furniture are all created by using numerous DAZ 3D models and free Archive 3D props.     

The final part of the story takes place in the attic, located at the top of the stairs of the sculptor's atelier. It's an old dusty place filled with old junk and, more importantly, a large double bed. The original model is called A Creepy Old Attic and looks more like the setting of a horror movie. Not ideal for a love scene, I guess, so I made a few adjustments to make it look a bit more romantic. 

The Centre Stage in Test Renders 

The main hall and staircase of the Academy of Arts. 

The sculptor's atelier on the top floor

The attic

The Garden

The artist and his model 

Related sections of this project: 

• Wallpaper

• WorkDoc 

• Gallery 

• AddOns 

 Back to Collections or Index Page