The sculpture creation process: Designs, models & multiples

Fortitude, given by Dr W.L. Hildburgh FSA. Museum no. A.28-1954

Making a sculpture can involve several stages, from the first idea to the finished work. Sculptors often expressed their initial ideas in drawings or sketch models, and then made more finished drawings and models for their patrons' approval. To work up large-scale sculptures from smaller models they used the 'pointing' method. The final result was then polished and often painted.

From the 13th century up to the 18th, the work of sculptors and other artists and craftsmen was regulated by the guilds. Sculptors learned their skills through apprenticeship to a master and member of the guild. Later, from the 1650s onwards, academies were established to provide theoretical and practical training.

The designs of some of the most inventive sculptors were copied and adapted by other artists and craftsmen. This helped to disseminate artistic ideas across Europe.

St Francis Borgia, Paul Egell, about 1750–1. Museum no. A.5-1911. This is a sketch model for a larger wooden figure commissioned for the church of the Jesuits in Mannheim. The finished sculpture was intended for a side altar dedicated to St Francis Borgia and also designed by Egell. The model represents an early stage in the evolution of the design, which was never realised as Egell died shortly afterwards.

Faith, Antonio Spinazzi, about 1780. Museum no. A.5-1949. This figure shows clearly the high points marked for pointing. It is a model for the marble figure of the same subject that Spinazzi made in 1781 for the choir of Santa Maria Maddalene dei Pazzi, Florence.