ARTISTS - ARCHITECTS, DESIGNERS & SCULPTORS

PATHWAY OF THE ARTIST AS TOWERING MONUMENT-MAKER:
Storyline: The master builder leaves an unparalleled legacy in his designing wake, but has yet to design a personal interior to come anywhere close to his outer surety of structure, function and form.
Frank Lloyd Wright (Frank Lincoln Wright) (1869-1959) - American architect. Outer: Mother was a schoolteacher, father was an itinerant preacher, lawyer and musician, with a 17 year difference between the two. Their intensely religious union was an unhappy 2nd marriage for his sire, while their oldest son was the special object of his mother’s devotion. Originally named Frank Lincoln Wright, later changed his middle name to Lloyd. Attended the Univ. of Wisconsin, studied engineering, and did some work as such, but left school to go to Chicago to become an architect. Small and dapper. After doing architectural detailing, he came to work for Louis Sullivan (Paul Verhoeven) as his chief assistant, before marrying Catherine Tobin at 22 and, after quarreling with his mentor, opening his own firm. Eventually had 6 children, including Lloyd Wright, also a prominent architect. Turned down an offer for subsidized study in Europe to concentrate on low terrain “Prairie School” architecture, of which he became the chief proponent, with his often spectacular designs. Created about 50 Prairie houses in the first decade of the century, all built with bold, plain walls, and wide, low roofs over continuous window bands that defied the convention of boxlike structures of the time. Won numerous other commissions for apartment houses, group dwellings and recreation centres, but his marriage fell apart and in 1909, he took up with the wife of one of his former clients, Mamah Cheney, which damaged his reputation. Began building his own home, named Taliesin, which would become a landmark. Left for Europe with the still-married Cheney, and completed 2 books there, while the drawings and photographic record of his buildings were published in Germany. Unable to get a divorce, he lived with Cheney, which cost him all but his most loyal supporters. Designed his first skyscraper, then won a commission for a hotel in Japan, spending several months there. While building a complex in Chicago in his late 40s, an insane houseman killed Cheney, her children and 4 others who were visiting Taliesin with an axe, and the living quarters were consumed by fire. Absolutely crushed, he took up with Miriam Noel, a sculptress, and went to Japan where they lived for 5 years, while he worked on the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. Because of his egocentricity and unconventionalities, he had difficulty in gaining more commissions. Finally won work in California, got divorced from his wife, but his relationship with the sculptress ended and Taliesin once more burned, after being struck by lightning. Rebuilt it a third time, met and 4 years later, married his 3rd wife, Olga Lazovich, a Montenegrin beauty and the daughter of a judge, in a lasting union that produced one daughter, Iovanna, who ultimately descended into mental illness, thanks to two highly manipulative and controlling parents. Financial difficulties led to writing his autobiography as well as numerous articles, but the stock market crash effectively curtailed all new architecture, and he spent the early 1930s lecturing, and setting up the Taliesin Fellowship to train new architects, whom he treated like indentured servants, while his wife encouraged their sexual expression with one another. Perfected a method for low cost housing and moved Taliesin West to Arizona, which would become his base. By the mid-1930s, he regained his preeminent reputation, and from then on, commissions rained. Did some 800 buildings, including Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, which is considered his masterpiece, while constantly experimenting with innovative processes in an attempt at overall harmony, which he called “organic architecture.” Well-honored the rest of his life, with people galore attesting to his brilliance in every phase of design, as he continually expanded his abilities to integrate everything he could around his extended creations. Served as a scold for civilization in his later years. Died from medication taken after a successful operation for an intestinal blockage. Inner: Difficult, unconventional, with an absolute surety over his own skills. Autocratic, compulsively seductive, habitual check bouncer, as well as an unequivocal design genius, with an unparalleled legacy of striking buildings, despite leaky roofs on some. Sought an architecture that was consistent with nature and reflected American values. Unintegrated, with his outer vision far superseding his inner man. Extremely self-confident, and monstrously manipulative with those closest to him. Pacifist, arrogant, extremely well-protected, capricious and prickly. Master builder lifetime of absolute command over his field, but little real understanding of his own human components, a dominant architect in desperate need of eventually rebuilding himself. Pierre L’Enfant (1754-1825) - French/American architect. Outer: Third child and second son of a painter to the king of France. Mother was the daughter of a minor marine official at court. Trained in painting, engineering and architecture under his fathe and at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. Served as a lieutenant in the French provisional service, before coming over to America and enlisting at his own expense in the Continental army during the American Revolution as an engineer. Wounded and taken prisoner for 2 years, he was made major of engineers after war’s end. Settled in NYC and remodeled the old city hall into Federal Hall in 1787, where George Washington (George Marshall) was inaugurated as president. Commissioned to design a national capitol on the Potomac, which he did as a reflection of Versailles, with radiating streets, parks and squares and broad avenues, not unlike the earlier design he had executed as Christopher Wren. His disregard for both costs and authority, however, led to his dismissal in 1792. Most of his subsequent projects were also suspended because of both wilfulness and extravagance. Never married. Spent the later part of his life on minor commissions, while vainly trying to collect for his work in Washington. Declined a professorship at West Point, and died in poverty, despite having his plan chosen as the layout for the nation’s capitol. Inner: Irascible and contentious. Poorly designed lifetime of powertripping without the requisite power to back himself up, allowing his ill-structured emotional nature to ultimately overwhelm his building skills. Christopher Wren (1632-1723) - English architect, mathematician and astronomer. Outer: Of Danish descent on his paternal side. Youngest child and only son of a clergyman. Consumptive, he was initially taught at home by his father. Grew up in the turmoil of the English Civil War, which sent his Royalist family into retreat in the countryside, but he, nevertheless, received excellent scientific instruction, and was considered a mathematical prodigy. Graduated Wadham College, Oxford and achieved early fame as a mathematician and astronomer, becoming a fellow of All Souls College at the precocious age of 21. Became professor of astronomy at Gresham College and then for 12 years at Oxford. Always tried to solve scientific problems through visual means. Did not begin designing buildings until his late 20s, and was largely self-taught in that field via reading and observing. Spent 9 months in France studying architecture, particularly royal buildings in and around Paris. After the great fire of London in 1666, he designed the reconstruction of London, a new St. Paul’s Cathedral and 52 London churches. In 1639, he married his childhood neighbor, Faith Coghill, but she died of smallpox, after producing 2 sons, with one dying in infancy. Wed soon afterwards, in 1677, but his 2nd wife, Jane Fitzwilliam, also left him a widower with a daughter and son, when she passed on from TB in 1680. Elected several times to Parliament, but never took his seat, and was knighted in 1673. One of the founding members of the Royal Society, ultimately becoming its president, although he had long abandoned science for architecture. Became surveyor general of works at age 37 and held that position for nearly 50 years, being in charge of all royal and governmental buildings in England, including St. Paul’s Cathedral, a project that took over 3 decades and numerous designs. Oversaw a large office, and served as an architectural manager, working in collaboration, and dealing with contractors and builders. Eventually outlived his architectural age, with his churches as his strongest legacy. In his last years, he was accused of fraud, embezzlement and incompetence, and forced out of his surveyor’s position at the age of 86. Grumbled that he had wasted his time creating rubbish, and stated he would have been happier and wealthier if he had stuck to science. Died in his chair at the dinner table. Buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral with the inscription, translated from the Latin, “Reader, if you seek a monument, look around.” Inner: Good administrator, experimental and flexible. Personality largely hidden and subservient to his work, which has left his name as one that resonates through the centuries. Outer-directed lifetime of taking advantage of the opportunities thrown his way, and concentrating on the rationally scientific, rather than the wrenching emotional, so as to insure his lasting success. Andrea Palladio (Andrea di Pietro della Gondola) (1508-1580) - Italian architect. Outer: From northern Italy, he was apprenticed in Padua to a stonecutter in his early teens, only to break his contract after a year and a half. Fled to Vicenza and worked as a stonemason, before being given an education by Gian Giorgio Tissino (Paul Verhoeven), who took him into his school for young humanist aristocrats and then to Rome to study ancient and Renaissance art, while bestowing his name on him, as an exemplar of the Greek goddess of wisdom, Pallas Athene. Viewed architecture as an archaeologist, drawing reconstructions of buildings in their original state. After marrying Allegra Marangon in his mid-20s, he began his career as a designer of villas and palaces in Vicenza for wealthy patrons, which would have enormous influence on European architecture for centuries, reaching its apex in the 18th century, and establishing the Palladian style as one for the ages. By 1560, he began receiving commissions for Venetian religious structures, culminating in three magnificent churches, which have withstood the centuries. Probably the most influential architect in the West, through use of symmetry and proportion and his ability to synthesize the past and present. Wrote a guidebook to the ancient Roman monuments, and in 1570 he published his seminal work “The Four Books of Architecture,” which included many of his own drawings and plans, insuring his later influence. Left several unfinished buildings at his death. Inner: Excellent sense of mathematical order, with his emotions under control. Form over content lifetime of serving as an architectural bridge between the past and his contemporary present, using his buildings, his writings and his plans as blueprints that would be followed for centuries, while keeping himself under careful wraps. Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455) - Italian sculptor. Outer: Mother was the daughter of a farm laborer, and originally married the son of a notary, who may or may not have been the artist’s father. Left him after several years, and had a common-law union with goldsmith Bartolo di Michele, who trained her son in his craft. Also received instruction as a painter, and evinced a precocious aptitude for both. Learned to work in miniature and precision through his early training. Won a competition for the north bronze doors of the baptistery of a Florentine cathedral, portraying the life of Christ, which took more than 30 years for him to complete. During that time he also served as an architectural consultant, and did stained glass windows for the same building, as well as numerous other commissions. Afterwards, he fashioned the east doors with scenes from the Old Testament, which were later called by Michelangelo (Henri Matisse), “the Gates of Paradise.” Married Marsilia di Luca, the daughter of a wool carder, 2 sons from the union who later joined their father in his workshop, continuing it after his death. Actively involved in the works of other artists, and many well known figures apprenticed in his shop. Used the monuments of Roman antiquity as his base, as well as the Gothic art tradition preceding him. Other shrines and reliefs made him one of the most influential sculptors of his time. Wrote a commentary that is a pioneer work in art his/story, which contained the first known autobiography written by an artist. Inner: Self-confident and highly self-aware. Foundation-building lifetime of strong support for his work and an acute awareness of his own contributions to the evolution of sculpture.

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PATHWAY OF THE ARTIST AS PRE-EMINENT DESIGNER OF HIS TIMES:
Storyline: The data gatherer and dispenser employs his eclectic views on form to a multiplicity of disciplines as well as ages from medieval to modern, while maintaining his ongoing position as numero uno in his selected fields through vision, discipline, and a passionate, albeit increasingly more tightly reined-in interior.
Philip Johnson (1906-2005) - American architect. Outer: From a patrician Cleveland family. His mother first sparked his creativity, sharing her interest in art and architecture, by taking her children to Europe, while his father was a well-to-do attorney. Only son. Spent his childhood in cathedrals and museums, breaking into tears at 13 when seeing the cathedral at Chartres, which set him on his life’s path. Graduated Harvard Univ. as a philosophy major, and later, was named director of the Dept. of Architecture of the Museum of Modern Art. Wrote on post-WW I architecture, as well as cataloged exhibits of industrial design. Flirted briefly with fascism in the late 1930s, before repudiating his views. Returned to Harvard in his mid-30s, where he entered the Graduate School of Design, although his real influence was Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, with whom he would later collaborate. Served in the army during WW II, then returned to MOMA as a curator, before becoming director of the Department of Architecture, after spearheading its existence. Struggled with his sexuality because of his upbringing, and kept his sexual orientation largely secret, although lived with the same man, David Whitney, from the late 1960s onward, after meeting him while delivering a lecture at Brown Univ. The latter, who was over 30 years his junior, would remain an enigmatic figure, deliberately shunning the media in order to keep their private life intensely private, while working in close concert as an adviser to his paramour. Built several homes, winning recognition with his own flat-roofed, one-story Glass House, a 1728 square foot see-through abode, built on a 47 acre estate, amidst 10 other structures, and based on a Mies van der Rohe design. The house, fashioned of glass and steel, and minimally decorated, would remain his and Whitney’s living quarters for the rest of their lives. As their relationship blossomed, his own work became more flamboyant, putting more emphasis on form as he grew more assured of himself. Following the completion of the Glass House, he established a notable career as architect, with his unusual forms and arches, most notably the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, and the renamed Sony Building in NYC. Courted the press and championed fellow architects, playing the role of America’s architectural dean, with his trademark thick-framed ebony glasses. Won numerous commissions for public buildings, and became the pre-eminent American architect of his time, as the leading designer of corporate structures in the 1980s, although critics dismiss some of his later works as pure kitsch. Continually productive and imaginative, embracing and abandoning the whole his/story of architecture, even into advanced age. Became bi-coastal when Whitney bought a house on Big Sur, and towards the end of his life, began donating his considerable art collection to MoMa. Made arrangements to turn his Connecticut estate into a historic site, leaving it to the National Trust. Announced in his late 80s, he would move to Rome at 100, although didn’t quite make it, dying at 98 in the Glass House, his modernistic masterpiece. Whitney followed him less than six months later, passing away from cancer. Inner: Gregarious, charismatic, with a legendary wit, and a preoccupation with his/story and the his/story of form. Dapper, apolitical, save for one brief stretch, with no religious affiliation. Fascinated by “procession,” the modulation of spaces through which people move. Champion of new directions, looking at both the past and future simultaneously, with an extraordinary ability to anticipate trends, and far more of an interest in aesthetics than function. Deliberately designed lifetime of moving from theory to practice, codifying and then using architectural information for a notable career of his own, while finding a perfect partner to complement himself. William Morris (1834-1896) - English designer, painter and poet. Outer: Father was a well-to-do businessman. From large family, 9 children all told. 3rd child and eldest surviving son. Had a fascination with the medieval world from early age on. Educated at Essex College, Oxford, where he formed a lifelong friendship with Edward Burne-Jones (Cecil Beaton), who like him, was a medievalist. Thickset and plump. Settled in London initially to become an architect, then fell under the influence of Dante Rossetti (Brian Jones), who drew him into his Pre-Raphaelite circle and convinced him to be an artist instead. Wrote a volume of verse on medieval legends, and in his mid-20s, he married model Jane Burden (Antonia Fraser), daughter of an Oxford groom, 2 daughters from union, one an epileptic, while the other, May, would become an editor of his works. In the process of designing and furnishing his new home, Red House, he founded a firm in 1861 which eventually produced furniture, stained glass, tapestries, carpets, wallpaper and textiles. Rossetti became so enamored of his wife, that the marriage eventually corroded into an unhappy union for both, and Jane became a burden and neurotic invalid. After a serious bout of rheumatic fever, he moved to the Bloomsbury section of London. Wrote poetry, although carefully guarded his growing domestic unhappiness in it. Traveled to Iceland with Rossetti, who because of ill health finally broke with him, much to his relief. Wrote and lectured on medievalia, and continued his enormous influence in the field of design through his firm. Also active in the Socialist League as lecturer, writer and organizer, putting as much energy into it as he had in everything he did. In 1890, he established Kelmscott Press, designing type and decorations for medieval books. His designs had enormous influence on Victorian tastes. Died peacefully after a sea voyage to Norway. Inner: Extraordinary intellectual curiosity, with Marxist sentiments, and a disbelief in Christianity. Gregarious, jovial, but furious at the moral, social and esthetic damage of his own age. High energy, passionate about all he did, remarkable intellectual stamina. Found emotional fulfillment through friendships rather than marriage. Life dedicated to celebrating the artistic traditions of Europe. Passionate lifetime of giving full expression to the aesthetic of the home, while bearing the burden of domestic unhappiness. Robert Adam (1728-1792) - Scottish architect. Outer: Son of the foremost Scottish architect of his time, brother would also become one. Grew up in a privileged, cultured environment. Briefly attended Edinburgh College, but left to join his father’s offices as an apprentice. When his father died, an elder brother assumed the position, with himself as assistant. Invited to accompany a nobleman to Italy, where he both viewed antiquity and came into contact with avant-garde architectural theory. Quarreled and separated from his host, then applied himself to serious study with a young French architect. Running out of money, he returned to England in his early 30s, determined to change the face of Palladian (Frank Lloyd Wright) architecture there. Along with his younger brother, he established the Adam style, which was much lighter and freer, and yet still within the classical mold, combining many elements from the past as well as contemporary influences. Best known as a decorator and designer of interiors, which would be the peak of his life’s work, with a particular aptitude for furniture design. Always designed in terms of a unified whole, with the smallest detail fitting significantly into the overall esthetic. Despite his fame, he was rarely called upon to erect new buildings, but rather fill and redesign old ones. Served as architect to George III (Jeffrey Archer) from 1762 to 1768. His speculation on a series of houses proved to be financial disasters, and he later turned to romantic neo-Gothic castles in Scotland. Towards the end of his career, his reputation began to decline, although he had commissions his entire working life. Inner: Highly ambitious social climber, arrogant but dedicated to craft. Interior-oriented lifetime of largely designing around what was already in place, with the help of an equally talented family members, while seeing what would happen if he allowed his emotions to supersede his usually careful sense of self construction. Inigo Jones (1573-1652) - English designer. Outer: Son of a cloth-maker, he was probably apprenticed to a joiner, although his early life was not well-recorded. Went to Italy, worked in the court of the Danish king, then returned to England to design masques for James I (Kenneth Tynan), whose wife, Anne (Lauren Bacall) was the sister of the Danish king. For nearly 4 decades, he continually staged court masques, where he introduced moveable scenery and the proscenium arch. Lifelong bachelor. Visited Paris and returned to Italy in 1613 to study the Renaissance works of Palladio (Frank Lloyd Wright), and on his return, he succeeded to the office of surveyor to the crown, which made him architect of all important state projects, as well as responsible for the maintenance and alteration of all royal residences, despite being largely self-educated in that field. Through his offices, he was largely responsible for introducing Italian architectural principles to England, creating the style most associated with the English Georgian period. Liked solid exteriors and rich, luxurious interiors, worked in strict proportions against a unified whole. His later work on restoring St. Paul’s Cathedral considerably influenced architect Christopher Wren (Frank Lloyd Wright). At the outbreak of the English Civil War, he was forced to leave London and relinquish his post. Captured, his estate was temporarily confiscated and he was heavily fined. Later pardoned and his estate was restored, and he was allowed to continue working for the nobility, despite the defeat of the Royalists. Inner: Great mystery surrounding the source of his extraordinary craft, which was built on observation rather than formal instruction. Self-inventing lifetime of redesigning himself from humble beginnings to become the most important English architect of his time, while being treated kindly by the fates during a time of great upheaval and potential personal disaster. Luca Della Robbia (Luca Di Simone Di Marco Della Robbia) (c1399-1482) - Italian sculptor. Outer: Father was a member of the wool-gatherer’s guild. Began his career working solely in marble. Entered a guild of stone masons and woodcarvers in 1432, holding various offices in it. Established himself as an outstanding Florentine sculptor through his work for the Florence cathedral. Strongly influenced by Lorenzo Ghiberti (Frank Lloyd Wright), with a purity and sweetness to all his works. Was best known for his figures and reliefs in polychrome terra-cotta, for which he perfected a technique of glazing. Decorated numerous altars and ceilings and had a large workshop and many assistant and pupils who produced glazed terra-cotta pieces known as Della Robbia ware. Succeeded by his nephew, who then passed his workshop down to his sons. Inner: Golden touch lifetime as one of the exemplary sculptors of his time, as well as perfecting innovative techniques that would serve his family for many generations, in an integrated domestic household dedicated to producing a high quality product.

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PATHWAY OF THE ARTIST AS MONUMENTAL SCULPTOR:
Storyline: The quintessential reshaper of found materials finally finds the culture, the time period and the audience, that allows him to sail smoothly through an artistic life without his usual mode of burning brightly only to live past his usefulness and inspiration.
Robert Rauschenberg (Milton Ernest Rauschenberg) (1925-2008) - American artist., photographer, choreographer and performer. Outer: Grandfather was a German immigrant and doctor who married a full-blooded Cherokee. Father worked for the local power & light company, and both parents were fundamentalist Christians. Had a frugal upbringing, while his mother used to make him shirts out of scraps of fabric, which fed into his own pastiche sensibilities. Had little interest in art growing up in Texas, and originally wanted to be a preacher. Expelled from the Univ. of Texas, where he was studying pharmacology, for refusing to dissect a frog. While serving in the Navy, where he worked as a psychiatric nurse in a hospital, he visited an art museum in San Diego, viewed his first paintings up close, and realized his life direction. After WW II, he changed his first name, studied painting at the Kansas City Art Institute on the GI Bill, then spent his next year soaking up art in Paris. Met his future wife, Susan Weil, a fellow artist, there while studying at Academie Julien. Couldn’t speak French, despite many lives there in the past, and finished his art education in North Carolina and the Art Student’s League in NYC. Married Susan Weil in 1950, divorced two years later, one son from the union, Christopher, who became an artist/photographer. Enjoyed his first one-man show in 1951, while still a student at the latter, and subsequently became identified with the second generation of the New York School painters, serving as a bridge between Abstract Expressionism, and the looser Pop forms which followed. Began exhibiting with all black and white surfaces underlaid with wrinkled newspaper, then continued to experiment with various forms of collage throughout the rest of the decade. Lived and worked with artist Jasper Johns, in an intimate mutually inspiring relationship. Also did window displays for upscale NY stores with him under the pseudonym Matson Jones. Influenced by both the Cubists and Dadaists, he sculpted his paintings out of images and surfaces, and also creating “combines,” putting together found materials. Became a costume designer for a dance company, and also produced theatrical pieces in collaboration with avant-garde composer John Cage. Began combining newspaper and magazine photographs, transferring their images directly onto canvas with solvent and stylus, then used silkscreens offset spatially with abstract expressionistic brushstrokes, before going back to pure graphics, which led him to lithography and printmaking. Won first prize at the Venice Biennale in 1964 for his silkscreen paintings. An accomplished photographer, and always in the forefront of artistic movements as well as being both an influence and liberating force on those who followed him. An active cultural teacher, he spent the last half of the 80s and early 90s, traveling the world to promote international understanding via collaboratory projects. Settled on an island off of Florida’s Gulf Coast in 1970, and maintained an immense studio on 35 acres, with acres of assistants as well, in an extremely successful go-round of converting everything he touched to midas/like commercial gold, while opening the eyes of the world to seeing things anew. His last partner was Darryl Pottorf, who outlived him. Died of heart failure. Inner: Charming, friendly, garrulous and hard-drinking, with a fear of intimacy. Extremely enthusiastic, highly inventive and innovative, with a sure eye for telling image and artistic space. His worst nightmare was to repeat himself. Viewed the world as one gigantic painting, with no distinction between art and life, and loved to blur the lines between the various forms open to him, even taking up composing later on in life. Dyslexic, bisexual and nearsighted. Raised and donated hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities each year. Well-supported lifetime of switching both countries and artistic interest, while continuing to remain at the forefront of his generation of artists, and, at the same time, learning to enjoy himself far more in the process. Auguste Rodin (Francois-Auguste Rene Rodin) (1840-1917) - French sculptor. Outer: From a poor family, father was Norman, and the son of a cotton seller. The family had come from the provinces to seek their fortune in the City of Light, but all his sire could initially get was a clerkship in the Paris police department. Eventually, he became an inspector at the end of his less-than-illustrious career, but his mother had to struggle her whole life with her husband’s low pay. Adored his older sister, Maria, who died of peritonitis at 25, after entering a convent following a rejection by one of his fellow students. Blamed himself for her demise. Nearsighted, he did poorly at school, although his deficiency probably led him to the close-at-hand and tactile field of sculpture. Entered drawing school, after his sister pleaded with their father to let him, but failed 3 times to be accepted at the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Retreated into a religious order for several months after his sister’s death, determined to give up art, although its head encouraged him not to. 5’4”, with a muscular body, massive shoulders and broad hands. Also had an unusually large head, with penetrating blue eyes and an obvious magnetism. Took up with Rose Beuret, an illiterate seamstress in his early 20s, who became his lifelong companion, as well as his housekeeper, model and studio helper, even though he treated her like a slave, and she was often banished from his presence when distinguished guests were about. In turn, she descended into freakish behavior from his ignoral, as she retreated further and further into the background, although he married her over 50 years after meeting her and shortly before her death, one son from union, whom he largely ignored, save for some perfunctory drawing lessons. Worked with a sculptor in Paris and Brussels, and experienced early rejection until he finally found his stylistic niche. Traveled through Italy, and finally found emotional expression through the inspiration of Michelangelo (Henri Matisse) and Donatello (ditto). The realistic mold in which he now worked brought charges of having formed it on living people. After further rejections, he finally found fame and commissions at the age of 40. A state commission for a bronze door gave him financial security, although it remained unfinished at his death. Nevertheless, it provided him with inspiration for numerous separate sculptures, including his best-known work, The Thinker. A strong sensualist and compulsive seducer, he had numerous affairs with studio models, as well as several female artists. A stormy love affair with unstable pupil Camille Claudel (Sophie Calle) was the central relationship of his life, beginning in his early 40s and ending 11 years later, after which she ultimately went mad. Her influence allowed a far greater eros to suffuse his works, while she both posed for him, sculpted him, and worked right alongside him. Many of his works produced heavy conflicts, because of his slow, imaginative craftsmanship and his insistence on proper display. Particularly effective in his portrayal of great cultural figures. Employed legions of assistants and had a huge workshop, as well as a hotel, which became his museum after his death. Had literary pretensions, did many sketchbooks, illustrations and etchings. Ended his career receiving numerous honors, but doing little that was original or innovative. Like his previous lives, he imaginatively burned himself out, and his last years were difficult, although he finally realized his dream at the end, when a museum was voted to house his works. Before his death he had a plaster cast made of his right hand, and set a small torso in it, to countermand the charge he had used life-casting in an earlier piece, The Age of Bronze. Began suffering strokes, and died in a coma, after spending his last years in an unheated villa surrounded by women fighting for control over his estate. Inner: Despite fame, always a lonely and tormented soul. Felt misunderstood and an eternal outsider. Thought his works should represent emotions not ideas. Evinced a high integrity over his art, while acting achingly slow in completing pieces. Occasionally hacked off limbs of completed figures and presented them as torsos. Saw the sculpted structure of the human body as a process of building on layers. Single-minded and the possessor of a passionate, powerful ego. Outsider lifetime of learning through rejection, then slowly gaining and maintaining recognition by giving vent to his true inner self, after many lives of living past his usefulness. Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828) - French sculptor. Outer: 3rd child of a servant, who was a son of farmers. Mother was the daughter and sister of gardeners at Versailles. Spent his early years at the latter, exposed to the sculpture there, before his family moved to Paris when he was 5, became a concierge to a count, whose house held an art school. Began sculpting at 9, and underwent a long period of proscribed training, while being exposed to the art currents of the time. Won the Prix de Rome at 20, and went there 3 years later, spending 4 annums in the Eternal City, where he established his reputation and won fame. Sculpted in the idealistic mold of the time, but also was able to add a human dimension to his work. Married Marie Langlois, the daughter of an employee of the king, in his mid-20s, 3 daughters from the union, with the eldest, Sabine, one of his favorite models when she was a child. Two years after his return to Paris, he won acceptance at the Royal Academy, and thereafter made his living through sculpted portraiture, doing busts of some of the most powerful international figures of his time, including Catherine the Great (Indira Gandhi) and Benjamin Franklin (R. Buckminster Fuller). Did a death cast of Rousseau (D.H. Lawrence), as well as several studies of Voltaire (Michel Fouquet), one of which, done in the latter’s old age, would prove his masterwork. Taught at the academy, where he showed his “Ecorché,” a figure stripped of its skin to show the muscles and tendons beneath it, which would become an art school mainstay afterwards. Went to America in 1785 and stayed at the home of George Washington (George Marshall), for a marble statue which he finished in France. Labored in marble, bronze, plaster or clay, often working with assistants, doing the finishing touches himself. Managed to avoid the turmoil of the French Revolution although it ended all his commissions, and he lost his apartment at the Louvre for two years. Returned to favor during the Napoleonic Era to add the emperor and empress to his impressive oeuvre, and was made a chevalier of the Empire in 1809. His mind clouded during the Restoration, and for the last 13 years of his life, he remained a figure of the past, largely suspended in time, although he continued to teach. Lost his wife 5 years before his own death. Inner: Open-minded, happy, charming and relatively uncomplicated. Avoided sleekness and high finish to catch subjects as he saw them. Eclipsed lifetime of mastering his art, only to see his times eventually bypass him, a repetitive theme of his. Francois Girardon (1628-1715) - French sculptor. Outer: Father was a smelter. Became the apprentice of a master joiner and woodcarver and his early work attracted the attention of the French chancellor, who brought him to Paris to study, then sent him to Rome. On his return in 1652, he worked under the court artist Charles Le Brun (Calvin Klein), became a member of the Royal Academy, before being professor in 1659. Labored for finance minister Nicholas Fouquet (Bernard Baruch), and after his fall, in 1664, he did extensive decorations for the royal palaces. His most famous work was “Apollo Tended By the Nymphs.” Did extensive sculpting at Versailles, using his earlier life as Jean Goujon for an inspiration for one of his tableau. Classified a Baroque artist, his sympathies actually lay with classicism, often using Greek modes from antiquity as his inspiration. On Le Brun’s death in 1690, he was appointed inspector general of sculptural works, a position of both power and wealth. Ultimately made a chancellor of the academy in 1695. After the turn of the century, his career was eclipsed by the rise of a rival, and he received few commissions the last 15 years of his life. Inner: Highly prolific with an instinct for both position and power. Eclipsed lifetime of building on past experience, and, once again, living past his usefulness. Jean Goujon (c1510-c1568) - French sculptor. Outer: Little known of his early life. In his late 20s, he married flower-painter Catherine Duchemin (Camille Claudel?), 10 children from union. Worked in the Mannerist style and often in conjunction with the same architect, although his later works show more of a freedom of figure when he labored on his own. Did marble reliefs in an artificial, elongated style that showed his mastery of the form, with his masterwork a tableau of nymphs. Probably had to flee Catholic Paris because of his Protestantism, and the remainder of his career is obscure. Inner: Cut and ultimately run lifetime of developing his outer skills, before being persecuted for his inner beliefs, as a prelude to his longtime struggle around integrating the two, and his inability to maintain a consistent career all the way through to the end of his long lives until century number 20.

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PATHWAY OF THE ARTIST AS PROVOCATIVE RENAISSANCE MAN:
Storyline: The redesigned architect, whose accomplishments span several disciplines, finally finds his perfect expressive medium in film, which allows him to stimulate, provoke and outrage his audiences, instead of being forced to swallow his excessive sensibilities and self-destruct, as in the past.
Paul Verhoeven (1938) - Dutch filmmaker. Outer: Mother was a hat-maker, and father was a schoolteacher. Spent most of his childhood living in the Hague during WW II, not far from a German military base which was repeatedly bombed by allied forces, giving him an explosive view of the world. Went to Leiden Univ. where he ultimately earned his Ph.D. in mathematics and physics in 1964, but decided on a career in film, viewing it as a far more creative expression of science. To that end, he simultaneously had attended the Dutch Film Academy, shooting his first short, A Lizard Too Much in 1960, following it up with three more over the next 3 years. Entered the Dutch navy as a conscript, and shot a documentary, which won a French award for military propaganda films. Married Martine Tours in 1967, 3 children from the union. Continued shooting documentaries for Dutch TV, before making his first feature in 1971, Business is Business. Two years later, he scored his first international hit, Turkish Delight, which reintroduced Dutch filmmaking to an international audience. Continued to employ the dual themes of sexuality and obsession, along with the violence of war in his next series of films, working with the same actors and cinematographers, while establishing a kinetic, imagistic, visually striking style that resonated with both art house audiences and regular movie patrons alike. Shot his last Dutch film, Spetters, in 1980, which had a huge negative reaction, and hied himself to Hollywood afterwards. Began working in the blockbuster mode in the mid-1980s, with Robocop in 1987, a violently grim satire, and then topped it with Total Recall in 1990, showing a comic-book sensibility coupled with a decadent morality as well as an ongoing potent visual sensibility. Topped himself with the sleazy thriller Basic Instinct, in 1992, flashing America via Sharon Stone and cementing his reputation as an adept shockmeister capable of eliciting equal parts outrage and admiration. The only nominee ever to accept a Razzie award in person, for his execrable Showgirls in 1996, showing his ability to both laugh at himself and still pursue his own unique pathway as a maker of both art and muck. In addition to his filmmaking, he also a member of the Jesus Seminar, a group exploring the uses and abuses of Christianity, which he limned in book-form in “Jesus-the man,” with an ultimate desire to shoot a life of the Messiah, according to his own vision. Returned to Dutch film/making in 2006, after over two decades, with The Black Book, a WW II drama, which once again casts his native land in a negative light. Inner: Stickler for detail, great desire to shock and stir up his audiences, while maintaining a high gloss to all his works, via an equal skill at well-structured storytelling and eye-filling imagery. Fascinated as a layman with the prophet Jesus Christ. in your face lifetime of switching media to embrace the moveable architecture of filmdom, while utilizing his storytelling skills and sense of visual mastery to stimulate, provoke and entertain, allowing him to better integrate his own renaissance sensibilities through a far more flexible medium than that which has been available to him in the past. Louis Sullivan (1856-1924) - American architect. Outer: Son of an Irish-born dancing master and Swiss-born mother who had emigrated to the United States. Stayed behind and lived with his grandparents when his parents moved to Chicago. Attended MIT, but left after a year, impatient to begin working, which he did with a Philadelphia firm for several months, until the economic panic of 1873. Went to Chicago, and worked for a prestigious firm, before sailing for Paris to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, where he affected a romantic swagger, replete with sideburns. Returned to Chicago, toiling for several firms, before establishing his own with a partner in 1881, which would last for 14 years, and would produce 100 buildings, many of them landmarks, using materials to emphasize their function. His partner’s business ability complimented his own skill as a designer, particularly in commercial buildings. Frank Lloyd Wright served a 6 year apprentice with them, although left after a quarrel, that was not patched for over 2 decades. Nevertheless, he always acknowledged gratitude to him for his influence. Considered one of the fathers of the modern-day skyscraper, and always designed in terms of visual power and practical function. His partner split 2 years after the economic depression of 1893, and later, he refused to re-establish the firm when the former had a change of heart about retiring. On his own, he found the going more difficult, and became more reclusive and less tractable. Divorced in 1916 after a disastrous late marriage in 1899 without issue to Margaret Davies Hattabough and years of separation afterwards. Began to turn his attention to writing, while economic straits forced him to do work that did not inspire him, and sell off many of his things. Became more erratic in his work habits, and addicted to alcohol, and at the end of his life was reduced to living in one bedroom, supported by friends. Wrote his autobiography, and other architectural writings, which had lasting importance. Died of kidney and heart problems. Inner: Arrogant and proud. Saw architecture in poetic and religious terms, and worried about the dehumanizing forces of modernism. Thought in terms of architecture and civilization, while looking for clarity and function in all his numerous designs. Yet another designer who would have to totally redesign himself to compensate for his chaotic interior. Blocked building lifetime of getting lost in his own self-importance and not realizing the importance of support and partnership, that had helped him in all his previous lives. Augustus Pugin (1812-1852) - English architect and writer. Outer: Son of an expatriate French architect and archaeologist, who came to England during the excesses of the France revolution. His sire was from a good Protestant family, and did both design work and book illustration. Served as a teacher as well, and gave his son his training, while taking his students on sketching tours of both England and France to thoroughly acclimate themselves to Gothic architecture. Went to work at 15 for a London furniture-making firm, and at 17, he set up his own business, although it failed in 1831, despite an initial success. Married Anne Garnet the same year, and was briefly imprisoned afterwards for not paying his rent. His wife died in childbirth the following annum. Thick-set and below medium height, with grey hair. His father died when he was 20, but gave his son a deep appreciation of the mode in which he would subsequently work. Carried on his sire’s illustration work, and operated on the theory that the quality and character of a society was directly linked with the caliber of its architecture. Married a second time to Louisa Barton, in 1833, 6 children from the union, including E.W. Pugin, who would become an architect, and take over his firm. In 1835, he published a book on Gothic furniture style in the 15th century, which made him a leading expert in the field, and the same year, he built his first house for himself, while converting to Roman Catholicism. Felt the decline of the arts was the result of the Reformation, which robbed Europe of its spirituality, since the Classical style reflected the pagan past. Designed numerous churches in a Gothic mode, as well as monasteries, convents and schools, and was involved with the leadership of the Roman Catholic revival. Also refurbished Anglican churches. Enjoyed wide support by patrons, and was equally impressive on paper as he was in his design and execution of buildings. Trained his own workmen, who in turn, deeply respected him for the respect he gave them. An illustrator, antiquarian and theorist as well. Also managed a salvage operation, with his ship, the Caroline, which helped his income. The death of his 2nd wife in 1844 and a recurrence of an old illness saw him decline in his last years, as others rose in his stead to continue the Gothic revival. Two sons, E.W. and Peter Paul, would continue their father’s firm of Pugin and Pugin. Married a third time in 1849 to Jane Knill, and had two more children with her. Had a great fear of death, and went into retreat at its approach, ultimately causing his last wife to put him in the Bedlam asylum. Came back home, had a stroke and died suddenly, probably from the effects of mercury poisoning. Inner: Extremely expressive, particularly on paper, with a very strong esthetic and artistic/spiritual rationale for all he did. Highly industrious, working well into the night when he was healthy, every day. Harbored a strong love of the sea his entire life, and dressed like a quasi-sailor. A voluble talker, and a fount of stories. Generous and benevolent, with a certain asceticism to his habits. Never swerved from his Catholic faith, once he had embraced it. Man-on-a-mission lifetime of allowing the support accorded him to be the basis for a fruitful career, which was ultimately undermined by his own structural, rather than emotional, interior. John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) - English architect and dramatist. Outer: His grandfather had emigrated from Flanders. Son of a sugar baker of Flemish stock. Went to King’s School, and then was commissioned in a regiment of foot soldiers. Got his early architectural training in France, but was arrested there on suspicion of being a British agent, in 1690 and spent 2 years in the Bastille, where he used his time to write a comedy. Released, and spent 6 more years in service, although saw no active combat. Enlarged on a play written by Colley Cibber (Brendan Behan), called it Relapse, and it remained a great favorite of the public throughout the 18th century. Wrote several comedies, none of which were particularly original despite being witty, and was severely attacked for being a representative of the amorality of the theater. After a period of silence, he wrote 5 more adaptations of French farce, before turning to architecture as his metier. Worked with Nicholas Hawksmoor (Marcel Breuer), the clerk of Christopher Wren (Frank Lloyd Wright), and through him gained knowledge of the field. Became comptroller of the queen’s works in 1702, and tried to revive the flagging theater by designing a grand new one, which proved a failure. Brought the English Baroque style to culmination through his work on Blenheim Palace for the Marlboroughs, in partnership, once again with Hawksmoor, although he was dismissed when he ran into financial difficulties. Liked to convey the majesty of splendid size in his buildings, which appealed to the grandiosity of his clients, even when their homes were less than munificent. Built other manor houses for the landed aristocracy, showing a strong influence by Palladio (Frank Lloyd Wright). Knighted and made controller again under George I (Prince Charles). His later work was done without Hawksmoor, and was simpler in design. In 1719, he married Henrietta Yarborough, the daughter of a colonel of the foot guards, who was 30 years his junior, and outlived him by a half century, after he passed on from the complications of asthma. Son and daughter from the union, with the latter dying in battle at 26. His work influenced the picturesque style of the rest of the century. Inner: Highly social and extremely well-liked by the culterati, thanks to having several means of self-expression at his disposal. Had a good word for virtually everybody, save for the Duchess of Marlborough (Jackie Kennedy), and they for him. Megalomaniacal when it came to his passion for outsized edifices, as if they were the only way he could truly manifest his outsized talent. Egomaniacal lifetime of expanding his talents of expression to both the written word and the frozen word of architecture, while getting various comeuppances along the way, and never being whittled down to size by them. Gian Giorgio Trissino (1478-1550) - Italian dramatist, poet and literary theorist. Outer: From a wealthy patrician family. Father died when he was young, but he was able to continue his studies. Married, his wife died in his mid-20s, and he decided afterwards to visit various Italian centers of learning. Traveled widely in Italy, studied Greek and philosophy and was part of the circle around Niccolo Machiavelli (George Bernard Shaw) in Florence before settling in Rome, where he served 2 popes, and became friends with the culterati of the time. Hellenized Italian drama, giving it structure and form, through the use of choruses, the unity of time and action and the employment of blank verse. Applied the same Greek mode to his poetry. Also exerted a strong influence on the budding architect, Andrea Palladio (Frank Lloyd Wright), whom he discovered working as a mason on his villa. Gave him the name Palladio, and took him twice to Rome, which aided his later development profoundly. His 2nd marriage alienated his children from his 1st marriage, which embittered his last years. Died from a protracted illness. Inner: Gregarious, supportive, highly expressive. Multi-media lifetime of applying architectural principles to drama and verse, as well as aiding the career of longtime cohort, before being undone by familial problems, as symptom of his ongoing loosely designed interior.

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PATHWAY OF THE ARTIST AS SELF-DESIGNING ARCHITECT:
Storyline: The decadent designer likes to balance his gift for original creation, with that of original self-destruction, allowing himself to be an emblem of high-living and dramatic dying as symbol of his ongoing Shiva essence.
Halston (Roy Halston Frowick) (1932) - American designer. Outer: Mother had a flair for making crocheted afghans, father was an accountant. Learned to sew, and began making hats at an early age. Had a talent for self-promotion, along with a regal arrogance, and befriended rich girls who would chauffeur him around. His family moved to Indiana, and he studied at the Chicago Art Inst. as a fine arts major. Entered Chicago’s clandestine homophile world, got backing from an influential hairdresser and opened a millinery salon in the Ambassador Hotel in Chicago at 21, staying for 4 years before moving to NY to work for Lily Dache. Became chief custom milliner at Bergdorf-Goodman, numbering Jacqueline Kennedy among his clients, while Bergdorf’s also introduced his first clothes collection. Created understated, loose, casually elegant garments, which made him the first American to become a star in haute couture, allowing him to become both a stylist and confidante to rich, beautiful women. Left Bergdorf-Goodman in 1968, and decided to create a house of ready-to-wears. Immediately successful, he was able to rapidly expand his business. President and primary designer of Halston, Ltd, which he eventually sold for several million. A pioneer of unisex fashion, he was also prince of Manhattan’s decadent jet set, holding court privately in his luxurious townhouse and publicly at Studio 54 discotheque. Eventually descended into cocaine and various behavioral excesses. Did no professional designing after 1984, and 6 years later, he died of AIDS-related cancer. Inner: High energy, extremely social, highly developed esthetic, with a singular taste for the spotlight. Suave and imperious and unapproachable. Like an architect, started with the roof (hats) and worked his way down the female form. High-living lifetime of redesigning himself without the encumbrance of family to both pursue the fame and misfortune he feels compelled to act out at the end of each of his lives of material triumph and physical tragedy. Stanford White (1853-1906) - American architect. Outer: Father was Richard Grant White, a journalist, writer, music critic and Shakespearean scholar. Grew up in a house that was a gathering place for artists and musicians. Very close with his mother, a writer of children’s verse, who lived with him after his father died. Began his career in Boston, then studied in Europe, before joining Charles McKim (Calvin Klein), in eventually forming the firm of McKim, Mead and White, which would profoundly affect American architecture into the next century. 6’2”, and well-padded, 250 lbs., with red hair and a thick mustache. Their office trained hundreds of young architects. Particularly adept at the decorative elements of his buildings and their interior designs. Loved richly graceful affects, and had a wide knowledge of antiques and furnishings, with very pronounced tastes. Friend of Augustus Saint-Gaudens (Ralph Lauren), with whom he worked. In his early 30s, he married Bessie Spring Smith, the 13th child of a judge, who brought a large inheritance to the union, which produced two sons, and allowed him to live larger than his clients, an avowed wish of his. His first son died in less than a year, and his second, he largely ignored, although he became an architect and joined his father’s firm following the latter’s death. His devoted wife deliberately turned a blind eye to his powerful predilection for young showgirls, while producing six more children. Used his studio apt. in Madison Square Garden for his dalliances, where he installed a red velvet swing, which became immortalized in subsequent newspaper accounts of the trial of his violent and untimely end. Continually chased after beauty, and became involved with showgirl Evelyn Nesbit (Cindy Crawford). A jealous competition between him and Harry Thaw (Rande Gerber?), a wealthy child of industry, who later married her, ended in his public murder by Thaw on a rooftop garden of Madison Square Garden, when the latter could not countenance the fact that he had deflowered his future wife at 16. Killed instantly from behind with 3 shots. After his death, the firm still maintained his taste and standards. Inner: Selfish, infantile, but charming. High energy, extremely social and exuberant, with a highly developed esthetic, a singular taste for the spotlight, and sky rocket vitality. Loved speed, always moving. Felt he should live better than his wealthy patrons. Shiva lifetime of designing a spectacular death to offshoot an equally spectacular life. Benjamin Latrobe (1764-1820) - English/American architect. Outer: Father was a Moravian minister. Educated in the classics, he spent part of his youth in Germany, and was later a military member of the German Hussars. Received his architectural training in both England and Germany, and then had a successful social practice in London. Married Lydia Sellon, the daughter of a rector in his late 20s, daughter and son from the union. Three years after the death of his wife, he came to America in his early 30s and settled in Virginia, then Philadelphia, where he was appointed surveyor of public buildings by the president and fellow architect, Thomas Jefferson. Introduced Grecian forms in his monumental public works, and designed many private residences of the rich and the powerful. Considered the first professional architect in America, and grew wealthy and lived well off his commissions and reputation. But he was also underpaid and the victim of political intrigue. Remarried Mary Hazelhurst in his mid-30s, two sons, an engineer and a lawyer, with his wife devoted to him. Executed churches, rebuilt the Capitol after it was burned, a project completed by Charles Bulfinch (Calvin Klein), and spurred a Gothic revival. Ruinous speculation, however, led to his bankruptcy. A son of same name, was sent to New Orleans to construct the city’s waterworks, but died of yellow fever there. Completed the work, but also succumbed to the same disease, after bringing his family to join him. Inner: Proud and sensitive. Son may have been the unhappy Harry Thaw, another progeny of privilege, bent on revenge for his own loss of life. Uneven lifetime of struggling to change the architectural face of America, while dealing with resistance, loss and his own ongoing draw towards self-destruction. Pierre Mignard (1610-1695) - French painter. Outer: Brother Nicholas was also an artist. Trained at Fontainebleu before studying with Simon Vouet (Yves St. Laurent), who exerted an enormous influence on him. After establishing himself as a portrait painter and decorator, he went to Rome in 1644 and painted 2 popes, as well as worked on church frescoes, while staying for 2 years. Summoned by Louis XIV (Charles de Gaulle) to paint the king and his courtiers. Fell ill on his return to France and stayed with his brother for some time in Avignon. In his theories, he led the opposition against the dictates of Charles Le Brun (Calvin Klein), and the Academy royale. As a protege of minister Francois Louvois (Hermann Goering), he rose to power along with his patron. Became a member of the Royal Academy in 1663, and a professor the following year. Celebrated artist, enjoying wide popularity for his portraiture. After his longtime rival, Le Brun’s, death, he eagerly accepted the directorship of the Academy and the royal Gobellin tapestry works, despite being in his late 70s. Received all the degrees of power earlier denied him in a single session, as recompense for his longevity. Died 5 years later. Inner: Affinity for power and influence. Highly competitive. Had a sugary, sentimentality to his work, and was unoriginal, as a panderer to, rather than a shaper of tastes. Learning lifetime of longtime rivalry with longtime cohort, and having the patience, for once, to outlive him, as well as the inevitable fall that would befall him in all the succeeding lives in this series.

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PATHWAY OF THE ARTIST AS WELL-REWARDED DESIGNER:
Storyline: The modest materialist eschews the fast life for a strong sense of domesticity, while paralleling his longtime cohorts in empire-building, but without the rises and falls and strong personal dramatics to which the other two are so addicted.
Ralph Lauren (Ralph Lifschutz) (1939) - American designer. Outer: Of Russian-Jewish descent. Both parents were immigrants. Mother was the dominant figure in house, father was a house painter who wanted to be a fine artist. Youngest of 4. Conscious of style and clothing from youth onwards, he originally wanted to be a movie star, although he felt he wasn’t handsome enough. Lived in the same Bronx neighborhood as Calvin Klein. Legally changed his name along with his siblings in the 1950s, to unconsciously reflect his previous life’s name. Sold ties to classmates, worked part-time as a stockboy at Alexander’s Dept. Store and stayed on as a salesman after high school, while spending his money on stylish clothing. Took night courses at Baruch College, but was bored with his studies and dropped out after two years. After a a two year stint in the U.S. army, he became an assistant buyer for Allied Stores. Couldn’t hook up with any clothing manufacturers as a designer, before finally being hired by Beau Brummel ties. Made wide ties, that sold so well, he formed his own tie company called Polo. In 1968, he married Ricky Low-Beer, a former school teacher, two sons and a daughter from the union. His wife became a longtime model for his clothing, as well as an intimate partner in his business. Began designing shirts with wider collars to accommodate the ties, then suits with wider lapels to accommodate the shirts. Revolutionized fashion advertising by selling a whole lifestyle of classical tailoring instead of a product, focusing on inclusion into an affluent social strata. Created conservative tasteful clothing for young executives, then launched a women’s line for the suburban woman. His business rapidly expanded and he eventually became a multi-billion dollar corporation, with a host of designed items, from linens to perfumes, all geared towards a specific audience, and all reflecting products he would use, rather than simply put his name on. Also created outlet stores, Polo/Ralph Lauren, with over 130 worldwide. A highly successful entrepreneur, and an unabashed materialist with 5 homes, including a 12,500 acre Colorado ranch. Despite his wealth and fame, he has pursued simple, albeit expensive pleasures, eschewing the high life of his fellow designers to aristocratically celebrate home and well-appointed hearth. Took his company public in 1997, only to experience negative press afterwards on some of his collections and subsequent disappointing earnings, to put him, for the first time, on uneasy footing in a business that had previously only known success, although was able to rebound handsomely after century’s turn, opening stores around the world, and launching new brands. Celebrated 40 years in the rag trade in 2007 with a lavish NY show, and no desire to slow down. Inner: Dreamer and doer, with a definite aesthetic vision of the world. Narcissistic and insecure. Avoided the fast track world of high fashion, preferring the company of his own family to celebrities and the spotlight. Equally adept at business and marketing as design. Material boy lifetime of bringing his tastes to the upscale masses in the form of wearables, and being handsomely rewarded for doing so, while remaining level-headed and domestic in the process. Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907) - Irish/American sculptor. Outer: Father was a French shoemaker, mother was Irish. Left Ireland at 6 months, and sailed with his family for America, ultimately winding up in NYC, where his sire plied his trade. Finished schooling at 13, since his father was supportive of his artistic career, and apprenticed him to a stone-cameo cutter who was a hard taskmaster. Learned how to sculpt in low relief. Studied at night at Cooper Union, then his father paid for him to see the Paris Exposition at 19. Had to wait to get in, but finally studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, then spent 2 years in Italy, where he gained a thorough familiarity with the works of the Italian Renaissance. Became ill and suffered hard times in Rome, but persevered. Met his wife, Augusta Homer, there, married in his late 20s, one son from the union. Returned to Paris, then had to leave at the outset of the Franco-Prussian War, and came back to the United States, where he enjoyed huge success. His statue of an American admiral became a new standard for public monuments. Part of a tightly knit group that included Charles McKim (Calvin Klein) and Stanford White (Halston). Eventually moved to Cornish, New Hampshire, took on many students, and won many commissions. As a friend of President Teddy Roosevelt (Kathleen Kennedy), he designed the $20 gold piece and other coins through the relationship. Helped found the Society of American Artists, and also aided McKim with his long-sought American Academy in Rome. Died full of honors and as the foremost popular sculptor of his time. Inner: Extremely enthusiastic and industrious artist. Sensitive, good-humored, highly independent. Strive and succeed lifetime of being compelled by hard work, rather than genius, in fashioning himself as a highly successful and relatively conflict-free artisan. Samuel McIntyre (1757-1811) - American architect, sculptor and woodcarver. Outer: Father was a housewright. Learned the family trade in his sire’s shop, along with his brothers. Married Elizabeth Field at 21, one son from the union, who continued his father’s work. Developed his skills as a housewright, joiner and wood sculptor, then established his reputation as an architect by building homes for the rich shipowning aristocracy of his hometown of Salem Studied the buildings of Charles Bulfinch (Calvin Klein), who greatly influenced him. Carved mantle-pieces and cornices for the homes, with the same attention to detail on the interiors as on the exteriors. Initially did all the work himself, then employed his son, 2 brothers and a nephew, who all also were skilled craftsmen. Competed for the design of the capitol in Washington, although failed to gain the commission. Was also an excellent sculptural portraitist. Built mostly in brick during the last period of his life. Died of congestion of the lungs after saving a child from drowning. Inner: Meticulous craftsman with an instinct for wealth and cultural power. Highly self-assured, orderly, with ability to exercise influence. Majestic appearance, calm temper. Nicely sculpted lifetime of working within the context of a close family, and establishing himself as one of the unique designing figures of his time. Eustache Le Sueur (1617-1655) - French painter. Outer: One of four brothers who all became artists. Began studying at 15 with Simon Vouet (Yves St. Laurent) and became a disciple of his, although after a quarrel he began his own career in his mid-20s. Never traveled, and led a largely uneventful outer life, dedicated to craftsmanship. Married Genevieve Gousse, the daughter of a wealthy grocer in 1644. The duo had seven children, with none becoming painters. Shared a studio with his 3 brothers and a brother-in-law. The work from the studio was marked by simplicity of style, and any attempt at grandeur or majesty usually failed. One of the founding members of the Royal Academy. Painted many decorative apartments in the Louvre, as well as for churches and convents. His purity of line stands out, rather than his use of color. Most of his works were of a religious nature. Inner: Loved order, simplicity and seclusion. Delicate sensibility, artist of his time, rather than the ages. Simply lived lifetime of working closely with his family to establish a distinctive style and taste for the French aristocracy.

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PATHWAY OF THE ARTIST AS SELF-DESIGNING ARCHITECT:
Storyline: The designing designer battles his instincts for classicism and decline through his ongoing rivalry with a longtime partner/competitor, while making his name a household word through a desire to provoke and stimulate and keep nothing between his designs save for naked ambition.
Calvin Klein (1942) - American designer. Outer: Middle of three children of a Hungarian Jewish immigrant family. Lived in the same northern Bronx neighborhood as Ralph Lauren. His grandmother owned a dress-and-alteration shop and his mother adored clothes. Used to accompany her on her shopping forays, studying designers, while making his own. Father was a Harlem grocer, who indulged his wife, and gave his son his strong business-orientation. Graduated the Fashion Inst. of Technology, and went to work as a sketch artist for an old line cloak-and-suit manufacturer. In 1964, he married Jayne Center, a textile designer he had known from junior high, one daughter from the union, Marci, who became a TV producer. Held several jobs, including copyboy at Women’s Wear Daily, before borrowing $10,000 from Barry Schwartz, a boyhood friend, to set up a cloak-and-suit firm under his own name in 1968, along with the former. Enjoyed early success, winning the first of 3 Coty awards, with a form follows function approach, keeping his colors muted and his designs simple and practical. Amicably and generously divorced in 1974, he pursued a bisexual and drug-enhanced lifestyle, while upgrading his product and making himself over. Jealous of his successful colleague Halston, he had designs on his designer empire lifestyle, as well. His career expanded, paralleling that of Ralph Lauren, while he became known as an understated designer, associated with a quintessential American look, so that within 10 years he had a $100 million business, with Schwartz as his ongoing partner. Got into fragrances, although it initially proved a failure, designer jeans, underwear and other licensed products, becoming ever richer and more famous, while dogged by rumors of being infected with AIDS. In his 40s, he married Kelly Rector, a young designer who had worked for Ralph Lauren, and quickly became his muse, although the couple later went their separate ways. Created controversy with the sexual content of his ads, as well as fly-fronted female briefs, which his wife had suggested, then experienced financial difficulties with Calvin Klein Industries during the 1980s and early 1990s, which also led to more alcohol and drug abuse, although he always managed to recover through his overweening ambitions, to continue to be a large name in the design industry into the millennium. Put CKI up for sale, then withdrew it, while never making the company go public, an original plan of his. Finally sold it in 2002 to shirtmaker Van Heusen Corp. for about $400 million, as a subsidiary, and has since gradually withdrawn from the business end of the company, which has featured continual expansion of outlets both in the U.S. and abroad. Briefly fell into old habits, around the time of the sale, but since has adjusted to being a non-workaholic for the first time in his up-and-down and dramatically designed life. Inner: Generous, seductive, highly ambitious and competitive, and despite his high public profile, relatively shy, and a picture of proper deportment when sober. Entranced by money, society and power. Strong struggle to remain Calvin Klean, rather than Calvin Dekline. Purge and binge lifetime of competitive redesigning of both himself and his ambitions, through rivalry with his former pastlife partners, while helping shape and reshape the tastes of America. Charles McKim (Charles Follen McKim) (1847-1909) - American architect. Outer: Father spent his life promoting the abolition of slavery and the education of freedmen. Mother was a Quaker who ardently shared her husband’s social interests. Named after a Harvard professor fired for an abolitionist stance. Studied at Harvard, initially wanting to be a mining engineer. His progenitor persuaded him to enter an architect’s office, and he immediately took strongly to the work. Studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, returned to the U.S. and went to work for a prominent architectural firm. Soon after, in 1879, he was one of the founders of McKim, Mead and Bigelow, which became the famous and influential firm of McKim, Mead and White (Halston). His spirit and taste were the guiding force behind the highly successful trio, who won numerous important commissions, adhering to classical architecture and its Renaissance traditions. In addition to designing, he also did restorations and served on the Senate Park Commission, helping to draw up plans for the development of Washington and the District of Columbia, an ongoing project from his previous life. First president of the American Academy in Rome, which he had helped found along the lines of the French Academy, after many years of all-consuming effort. Married twice, to Annie Bigelow in 1874 and Mulia Appleton in 1885, and outlived both his wives, one daughter from the first union. After his partner White was killed in 1906 and his close friend, sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens (Ralph Lauren) died, he retired, suffering from overwork, and passed on the following year. Inner: Modest but driven. Calm, deliberate, sober. Highly social, highly influential. Less the innovator than the celebrator of classical tastes. Focused lifetime of close association with longtime partner/rivals while greatly influencing the exterior look of America. Charles Bulfinch (1763-1809) - American architect. Outer: Son of a physician. Graduated Harvard, then toured Europe for 2 years, where he was particularly impressed with the Georgian styles in England. Friend of future President Thomas Jefferson, whom he met in France, and was influential in his choice of classic revival for American architecture. Married his first cousin Hannah Apthorp in his mid-20s, and settled in Boston, 11 children including Thomas Bulfinch, a renowned mythologist. Began designing in the Federal style, executing many New England buildings, as well as becoming member of the Boston board of selectman. Eventually became its chairman, a position comparable to mayor. Showed himself equally adept at designing around municipal government, coming up with solutions for all manner of municipal problems. Lost his private fortune in 1795, but quickly rebounded. Completed the work of Benjamin Latrobe (Halston) on the Capitol Building in Washington in 1817, which provided the model for state capitols around the country, using classical elements such as domes, porticoes, arcades and pilasters, all executed in graceful proportion. Also designed numerous private homes, although would be remembered best for his public buildings. Inner: Patient problem-solver, equal to anything pragmatic thrown his way. Less an original thinker, than a utilitarian one, who put his thorough stamp on one city on all municipal levels. Practical lifetime of utilizing his talents in a variety of spheres, giving the governmental face of America his stamp for the centuries to come. Charles Le Brun (1619-1690) - French artist and designer. Outer: Father was a sculptor. Became the protege of a French chancellor, and studied with several French painters, before being taken to Rome in 1642 by Nicholas Poussin (Abel Gance), with whom he lived for 6 years. Influenced by the Baroque masters there. After he returned to Paris, he was given several large commissions, which led to his being ennobled in 1662 and appointed as first painter to Louis XIV (Charles de Gaulle), with an enormous salary. Flattered the king by pictorially likening him to the ancient conqueror, Alexander the Great. Given unparalleled artistic power, personally creating or supervising the production of most of the paintings, sculptures and decorations commissioned by the crown over a 3 decade period. Famous all over Europe, but he had a jealous rivalry with Pierre Mignard (Halston). In addition to his own abilities as a skilled portraitist, he was also an excellent organizer and producer, creating an overall esthetic style that would be identified with the French monarchy during the long reign of Louis XIV, and his equally efficient director of finance Jean-Baptiste Colbert (J.P. Morgan). Appointed director of the Gobelins tapestry factories, as well as head of the Academy of Painting and Sculpture and the French Academy in Rome, thereby influencing French esthetics for the next century. His position declined after the death of Colbert, in 1683, although he always had the king’s support. Won the enmity of chief minister Francois Louvois (Hermann Goering), which led to his death. Inner: Wished to impose his unifying sense of style over France. Genius for organization, and once again less the original creator, than the superb pragmatician. Uncrowned lifetime of acting as cultural monarch, exerting tremendous influence and power over the aristocratic tastes of France during the latter half of the 17th century and on through the next hundred years.

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PATHWAY OF THE ARTIST AS THEORETICIAN AND GEOMETRICIAN:
Storyline: The eclectic intellect and soaring Dutchman experiments with form and technique, while sacrificing emotion for the cool clarity of vision he brings to his esthetic shape of reality.
Rem Koolhaas (1944) - Dutch architect. Outer: Maternal grandfather was an architect. Father edited a leftist newspaper that supported the Indonesian struggle for independence. Eldest of 3 sons. Saw ruins everywhere, coming directly into a world that had just directly suffered the consequences of a world war. After Indonesian independence, he moved with his family when he was 8 to Jakarta, and stayed there for 4 years. Impressed by the duality of its structured colonial past and chaotic present, which would become an underlying esthetic for him. Returned to Holland and was disappointed in its return to ordered normalcy. Worked as a reporter for an Amsterdam weekly, and toyed with the idea of becoming a filmmaker, immersing himself in that discipline’s theory with a group of cohorts. While giving a talk on film to a group of architects at the Univ. of Delft in his mid-20s, he suddenly realized where his true interest lay. Enrolled at the Architectural Assn School in London, and welded his filmmaking interests into his elegant sense of design. Married artist Madelon Vriesdorp, 2 children from union. In 1975, he formed the Office for Metropolitan Architecture in Rotterdam, where the acronym, OMA is the Dutch word for ‘grandmother.’ Also has a relationship with Petra Blaisse, a designer of interiors and gardens, and has worked with both women, with his wife an original partner in his firm. Thin and bald, refuses to be tied down by either place or people. Established his initial reputation with “Delirious New York,” in 1978, in which he viewed the city as an archipelago of towers, with interchangeable inner parts. Had difficulty in getting his actual designs accepted, and supported the firm with an urban development project in Amsterdam. Eventually theory and practice conjoined when he won a major commission in Germany in 1989, and he developed into a worldclass architect, with designs equally divided between Europe and America. Continued his writing and theorizing, while traveling incessantly, and serving as a well-heeded speaker. Directs a research seminar at Harvard, having taken the position under the proviso he would not have to teach design. Almost died from meningitis in 1999 after an immunization vaccination went awry, which gave him a greater sense of peace with himself in the aftermath. Finally realized his full potential with the Seattle Central Library in 2004, a stunning visual paean to the glory of the human mind. Inner: Cool, contained and cerebral, and extremely analytical. Prefers simplicity overcoating a complex infrastructure. Thoroughly researches his clients’ needs, and sees himself as a collaborator and coordinator, eschewing the cult of personality prevalent in 20th century architecture. Expanding lifetime of turning his keen eye for form and aesthetic to the frozen music of architecture, while once again living with his heart in his head and his true love in his work. Piet Mondrian (Pieter Mondriaan) (1872-1944) - Dutch artist. Outer: Son of the headmaster of a Calvinist primary school. Father was also a amateur draftsman, and his uncle was a landscape painter. Grew up in a creative environment, and wanted to be a painter from early on, although acceded to family wishes that he get a degree in education. Certified to teach drawing, he also took painting lessons, and then pursued an art career. Began in a traditional realistic mode, but continually experimented with techniques in his still lifes, portraits and landscapes. Influenced by art nouveau and fauvism, he began painting in a Divisionist style, which emphasized form. Joined the Theosophical Society, which reflected his beliefs in a basic unity from which all things emanate. Moved to Paris, and came under the influence of cubism, which he readapted to his own geometric sensibilities, producing the paintings for which he became famous, horizontal and vertical lines of color, reducing form to its essence. Stayed in Holland during WW I, and returned to Paris a year after it ended. Founded an influential art review, De Stijl, and wrote theoretical articles for it, in which he explained his techniques and his use of only the three primary colors and shades of black, white and gray, in his rejection of all external subject matter. Coined the term neoplastic for this reduced vision of reality, which had a widespread effect on modern art. Moved to London before WW II, and then to New York, where he found a new freedom in his art in the last several years of his life. Died of pneumonia. Inner: Believed “One serves mankind by enlightening it.” Saw art as a means to open people up to a higher and healthier life. High-minded and highly self-disciplined, continually searching for the harmonies underlying life, through form rather than feeling. Reductionist lifetime of searching for the clean, cold purity of expression, uniting it with his spiritual and esthetic beliefs. Gerard Dou (1613-1675) - Dutch artist. Outer: Son of a glazier and glass engraver, in whose workshop he trained before studying under another engraver and a glass painter. Also spent 3 years in the studio of Rembrandt van Rijn (Alfonso Cuaron) in his mid-teens, employing that master’s contrasts of light and shade in his subsequent career, although his cool color schemes, and elegant drawing technique would depart diametrically from his teacher’s style. Began painting on wood, enclosing his works in specially made cases, which he decorated. Had a particular affinity for providing a frame within a frame for his work, portraying domestic scenes through windows, so as to catch their geometric dimensions, while paying close attention to detail, form and shapes. After 1650, he played more and more with light effects, particularly candles, for which he is noted. Had many imitators, thanks to his meticulous enameled style, while once again focusing on form above all else. Inner: Very careful craftsman, and influential through his example, rather than written record, although a certain emptiness pervades the works of his imitators. Focused lifetime of working on specific artistic phenomena, such as light and framing techniques, while once again coming under the influence of the same master that had earlier given him his artistic foundations. Petrus Christus (c1420-c1472) - Flemish artist. Outer: Became a citizen of Bruges in his mid-20s, where he spent the rest of his working life. Trained in the studio of Jan van Eyck (D.W. Griffith), becoming his closest follower, and may have completed some of his work. Simplified the style of his teacher, showing an intense interest in the use of space in painting. Introduced geometric perspective into Flemish painting, becoming the first artist in the Flemish tradition to show a vanishing point in his work. Did both portraiture and religious works, although his known output was meager. Married, with one illegitimate son. Inner: Cerebral lifetime of learning from a master, and then working on the mathematical elements of art, adding and augmenting to an understanding of its basic geometry, as he has continued to do in his various lives in this series.

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PATHWAY OF THE ARTIST AS POLYMATHIC PIONEER:
Storyline: The hyphenated artisan does battle with a minority-obsessed America, while proving himself in a host of disciplines to be of the first rank in all he assayed, despite being constantly rankled by his status as a second-class citizen, after earlier displaying his extraordinary futuristic genius over and over in more acceptable racial form.
Gordon Parks (1912-2006) - American photographer, poet, composer and filmmaker. Outer: Of African/American descent. Pronounced dead at birth, but was revived by an assistant doctor, after whom he was named. Grew up poor and black, the 15th and last child of dirt farmers, who were devout Methodists. 5 had been the result of his father’s previous marriage. Mother taught him to deal with racism through love and self-respect. She died when he was 15, and he was sent to live with oppressive relatives, but was soon kicked out of the house and never finished school. Lived in a flophouse in Chicago and did odd jobs, including playing piano at a bordello, after teaching himself music. Worked as a busboy, a semipro basketball player and a dining car waiter on the railroad. In 1933, he married Sally Alvis, and had 2 sons, Gordon, Jr. a director who died in a plane crash in Kenya in 1979, and David, a writer, and a daughter, Toni, a photographer, before divorcing in 1961. Bought a camera while working as a railroad waiter, and got a job with the Farm Security Administration shooting rural poverty in America. Freelanced fashion photography to help support his family, beginning in 1940, and joined the staff of Life in 1949, breaking the color barrier there, working in its Paris bureau, then in NYC. Covered more than 300 stories, including a series of memorable photo-essays on the Black Power movement of the 1960s. Continually forced to deal with being a minority in creative fields dominated by whites, and never lost his rage over racism. With a roving, as well as photographic eye, he married and divorced twice more, to Elizabeth Rollins in 1962, and after divorcing her in 1973, to Genevieve Young, a magazine editor, in 1973. One daughter, Leslie, a chef, from the second union, while the third ended as the first time had, in 1979. Also had numerous affairs, and managed to remain on good terms with all the women in his life. Wrote several autobiographies, one of which, The Learning Tree, he made into a movie in 1969, becoming one of the first mainstream African-descended film directors, although his Hollywood experiences were always less than satisfactory. Also did musical scores, toured with a big band, wrote novels, poetry, essays and technical books on photography, while remaining continually active throughout his 8 decades, both creatively and socially, including a memoir in his 90s, A Hungry Heart, a fourth in his series of autobiographies. Well-honored by life’s long end, and an important pioneer in most of the fields he pursued, opening up portals for a color-obsessed America through which to see itself more clearly. Inner: Impeccably dapper, with a persuasive manner and a deep drive to express himself and be well-rewarded for it. Harbored a great love of beautiful things, coupled with an insatiable curiosity, which both have been strong motivating forces. His easy-going manner hid an iron discipline. Sensual and sentimental at heart. Determined lifetime of doing battle with oppressive restrictions in order to liberate the multi-faceted artist within. John LaFarge (1835-1910) - American artist and writer. Outer: Father was French-born, and later emigrated to the U.S. and became involved in shipping, real estate and banking with connections in his native land. Mother was also French. Had a privileged Roman Catholic upbringing. Received his first art training from his grandfather, who was a miniaturist. Tall, and deep-chested albeit unathletic with dark olive skin and heavily-lidded eyes. Trained in law, but decided to become an artist and went to Europe to study art for two years in his early 20s. Spent several weeks with Thomas Couture (Peter Jackson), then worked independently, studying paintings in art galleries. Returned to the U.S. to resume his study of law, but soon moved to Newport, R.I., where he was influenced by William Morris (Philip Johnson). Married Louise de Sainte-Victor, a Frenchwoman, in his mid-20s, 6 children from the union, while he divided his time twixt a conventional household and a bohemian artistic existence in NYC. During this period, he suffered a debilitating illness from which he never fully recovered. After his mid-30s, he began to do large murals based on French landscape painting. He also became interested in stained-glass as a medium, inventing opalescent glass, and ultimately doing thousands for both churches and private homes, initiating a re-interest in that art-form, and earning a worldwide reputation for it. Lectured and wrote on art, evincing a highly scientific mind, and a great curiosity over technical means of self-expression. Towards the end of his life, he began traveling to exotic places, like Japan and the South Seas and writing and lecturing about his trips, using watercolors as a pictorial counterpoint to them. Always the teacher, he sought nothing less than uniting the European past in all artistic and scholarly disciplines with the American present. Inner: Multi-faceted and multi-talented. Both accessible and aloof. Sympathetic, scholarly, well-bred. Strong drive to bring America into the mainstream of world art as both teacher and practitioner. Fastidious, high-strung and well-dressed, often affected black clothing. Physically limited lifetime of fighting against a weak body in order to give him the drive to both experience and express himself to the fullest extent possible, while bringing his artistic soul into the modern world. Robert Fulton (1765-1815) - American inventor and artist. Outer: Parents were Irish immigrants. One of 5 children. His family lost their farm when he was 6, and his father died 3 year’s later, forcing him to grow up under impoverished circumstances. Sent to private school by his mother, and though no scholar, he showed himself to be an excellent draftsman. Evinced an aptitude for both art and invention as a boy, and was apprenticed to a Philadelphia silversmith at 16, but chafed at the idea of putting his considerable skills at the behest of others. Skilled gunsmith, in addition to his other talents. Tall, and an excellent conversationalist with widespread interests. The following year, he became a successful freelance artist, and within 4 years, he was able to buy his mother a farm. Traveled to London the following year, under the behest of some Philadelphia merchants, to study under Benjamin West (Steven Soderbergh), although his limited skills did not impress the far more cultured environment of England. Wound up spending nearly a quarter of a century abroad. Exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1791, and gained the patronage of an openly homophile viscount, who invited him to his castle, where he developed a machine to cut and polish marble. Turned his focus from art to invention and mechanical engineering, while relegating easel and brush to his spare-time activity. Joined the household of diplomat Joel Barlow (John Kenneth Galbraith), who encouraged him to take up with his wife, a relationship that continued after his own marriage. Wrote a treatise on canal navigation and won international recognition, and moved to France, where he designed a submarine, the Nautilus, although the French government was not interested in it. Formed a partnership with the U.S. minister to France, Robert Livingston (William R. Hearst), and the duo launched a steamboat on the Seine in 1803. A subsequent failure of both the French and English governments to pick up on his designs, sent him back to America, and along with Livingston, who held a 20 year monopoly for steamboat navigation on the Hudson River, he successfully launched the steamboat as a highly commercial and viable form of transportation. Married Livingston’s niece Harriet in 1808, 4 children from union, but his success was mitigated by lawsuits around who originally came up with the idea for his designs, since he had improved on the ideas of others. A member of the 1812 commission that investigated building the Erie Canal, he built the first steam warship, although it was never used in battle. Caught a chill while returning to NY, and died from it, largely undone by financial pressures because of his legal battles and poor investments. Inner: Extremely ambitious, boldly imaginative, and a fierce promoter of his own inventiveness. Far more loyal to his own ideas than nationalistic interest, and was viewed as avaricious and opportunistic, although his true desire was to enhance the world through his scientific acumen. Bridge lifetime of reducing his scientific genius in order to engage more directly with the world, and to try to build an intimate life for himself, instead of the lofty, isolated pursuit of pure rationality, that he had undertaken in the past. Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) - Italian artist, inventor and scientist. Outer: From a family of four generations of notaries. Illegitimate son of a notary, mother was a peasant, who later married an artisan. Left-handed, and brought up in a middle-class milieu. His father ultimately wed four times, outliving three, while siring 12 children, the last when he was 75. Treated as a legitimate son by his father, who did not officially add to his brood until later in life, although he spent his first 4 years with his mother’s peasant family. Came back at 5, when his progenitor’s first wife proved barren. Nothing has been recorded of his boyhood afterwards, although neither father nor son was close. Probably got a basic education, although was always sensitive about not receiving a formal one, with a noticeable lack of proficiency in Latin his entire life because of it. Developed an extraordinary handwriting, due to his left-handedness, that ran from right to left across the page, with the letters reversed, so that it was most legible through a mirror. Moved with his father to Florence, after the death of his grandfather in 1468. Apprenticed to noted artist Andrea del Verrocchio (Luchino Visconti) the following year, he received the polymathic addition to his education that he needed to give him the foundation for his scientific interests, while living at his master’s house. Tall, fair, auburn-haired, handsome and strong. Probably took full advantage of the city and its many artisans and scientists to round out his skills, showing a direct and eager desire to learn as much as he could, although he took absolutely no interest in the politics of his time, however. Accepted into the Florentine painter’s guild at 20, although he stayed in his master’s workshop for another 5 years, before going out on his own, producing his first authenticated painting, the “Annunciation” in 1472. In 1476, he and three others were charged with sexual indecency with a male artist’s model, although the accusations came to naught, and may have been the result of jealousy or spite. Nevertheless, he reportedly remained celibate the rest of his life. In addition to painting, he showed himself to be a superb graphic and technical artist in his pen and pencil sketches, where he limned many of his mechanical ideas. Fascinated by St. Jerome (Thomas Mann) and the Madonna and child, during this period, executing several works around their popular images. In 1482, he went to Milan, to serve its duke, Ludovico Sforza (Michael Milken), seeing in him a better patron than the de’ Medici of Florence. Wound up staying in that city for 18 years, and played with his technical, scientific and engineering skills there, while further developing his artistic and architectural aptitude, although he was misused by the duke, who rejected most of his ideas, and employed him primarily for portraiture, pageantry, masques and court entertainment. Maintained a large workshop, and also systematically pursued his many scientific interests, all based on his acute powers of visual perception. Filled thousand of pages of notebooks with his sketches, theories, and designs, using illustrations as his primary metaphor, with his text as illustrations of his illustrations. Painted one of his two most famous works, “The Last Supper,” during the last part of his stay, after spending some 15 years developing the ideas for it, and three painting it, only to have it be absorbed by the poorly constructed wall behind it, and then endlessly, and often incompetently, restored over the centuries afterwards. After the French entered Milan, he returned to Florence in 1500, and then entered the service of Cesare Borgia (Joseph Stalin) in 1502, working as a surveyor for that tyrant, before returning to Florence the following year, designing a canal, which was never built, while focusing largely on his scientific interests, including air and water currents and the flight of birds. Raphael (Pablo Picasso) and Michelangelo (Henri Matisse) were both introduced to his style during this time, although the latter despised him, largely because of his innate competitiveness. Probably painted the “Mona Lisa,” the most famous portrait in all of art, during this time. Returned to Milan in 1506 at the behest of the French viceroy for another 7 year period, where he painted less and less, while his scientific activity flourished. Left Milan in 1513, and went to Rome, where he lived in solitary manner and pursued his mathematical and technical interests, before accepting an invitation from Francois I (Bob Geldof) of France to enter his service as first painter, architect and mechanic of the king. Edited and arranged his scientific studies there, although never completed them, and was treated with great honor and respect. Grew more pessimistic as he aged, although remained sweet and gentle to those around him. Left 5000 pages of notes and drawings when he died. Inner: Led a largely isolated life, with no real attachment to people or places and his mind as his only true companion. Loved animals, had a lifelong fascination with the movement of water, was a skilled musician on the lyre, and an adept conversationalist. Trusted observation as his primary tool, while most of his inventiveness came from ideas that preceded him, with his lasting contributions in the realm of anatomical drawing and cross-sectional representation. Preferred the provinces and mediocre assistants who did not challenge him, and steered clear of any competition. Never shy about his own appearance, affected velvet clothing. Finished few commissions, and was seen by contemporaries as relatively unproductive. Never synthesized or philosophized, preferring the purity of mathematics and science to the muddled world of ideas and ideals. Much of his research was unknown to his contemporaries, as if he lived totally out of time. Polymathic lifetime of serving as an exemplar for the genius of humanity, using his skills at observation to master a host of disciplines, and become a figure for the ages, despite his inability to integrate himself with ordinary human experience, an oversight he would try to rectify in later lives in this series, where his talent superseded his genius, allowing his humanity to slowly come to the fore. Filippo Brunelleschi (Filippo di ser Brunelleschi) (1377-1446) - Italian architect and engineer. Outer: Father was a Florentine notary, mother was from a noble family. 2nd of 3 sons. Taught by his sire, with the thought of following the latter’s trade, but his early fascination with art and mechanics, soon led him to be trained as a goldsmith, and then as a sculptor, when he showed proficiency in that discipline as well. Despite exhibiting dramatic skills as a sculptor, and being designated a master, his disappointing loss of a commission in a contest to Lorenzo Ghiberti (Frank Lloyd Wright) in 1401, caused him to focus his talents on architecture. Traveled to Rome afterwards with the young sculptor Donatello (Henri Matisse), to whom he was quite close, and while there he measured the Parthenon dome and other buildings, allowing him to resurrect ancient Grecian and Roman principles of perspective, an art he studied quite closely. Worked as a goldsmith there along with Donatello, although their natural competitiveness would ultimately strain their relationship. By his early 40s, he focused solely on architecture, and was soon viewed as the most prominent architect in Florence, serving as a bridge figure between the waning Gothic style and the new Renaissance mode of building. Also employed his considerable engineering skills in creating machines to actualize his designs. Rigorously intellectual in solving all his engineering problems, he mathematically worked out proper proportions according to ratio formulae, reviving the ultra-rational sense of the ancients in dealing with contemporary structural problems. Also familiarized himself the works of the poet Dante (Ezra Pound), in order to understand past place relationships with his present. Worked in the various modes of his times, and also did military fortifications. His masterwork was the ribbed dome of the Florentine cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, which had sat uncompleted for half a century because no one could figure out to construct it. Active until the near-end of his life. One of the three pivotal artistic figures of early Florence, along with Donatello and Masaccio (Pablo Picasso), whom he taught and would also hook up with the following century, before going his separate ways from them. Inner: Cantankerous and secretive, with an excellent memory. Intellectual problem-solver, with a refined sense of esthetics. Wasp-tongued in conversation, with a gift for cutting repartee, as well as an impressive fund of knowledge in a wide sphere of subjects. Golden builder lifetime of serving as a bridge figure between the ancient world and the Renaissance, so as to literally build on the past and bring it up to his present. Pythagoras (c580BZ-500BZ) - Greek philosopher and mathematician. Outer: Little known of his life. Established a school in his native Samos, although he lived outside the city in a cave, where he pursued his mathematical research. Because of a tyrannical dictatorship there, he emigrated and went to Egypt and perhaps Asia in order to study, before winding up in southern Italy around 530BZ. Established a secret religious society at Crotona, which was probably influenced by the earlier Orphic cult. Became the head of a disciplined ascetic community of both men and women, known as Pythagoreans, who were composed of 300 in number, with an inner and outer circle. The group believed in the transmigration of souls, and practiced moral and dietary rules in order to enhance their chances of finally being liberated from the wheels of birth. Initiates gave up all personal possessions and maintained a vow of silence for 5 years, before finally being admitted. Men and women were treated equally, slaves humanely, and animals were respected and not eaten. None of his writings have survived, and much of his work may also be the result of his subsequent school, or the mystical traditions of his time. Credited with the Pythagorean theorem, a basis of geometry, as well as number theory, the occult science of numerology, the musical intervals of the octave and music as a reflection of the harmony of the spheres. The Pythagoreans reduced everything to numbers, even abstract concepts like justice, and taught that the Earth was a spherical planet, revolving around a fixed point, and made up of four elements: earth, air, water and fire. His contributions, however, remain largely enshrouded in myth. Inner: Saw a kinship in all living things. Felt he could remember his previous existences, and saw existence in Buddhist terms, with release from physical restraints as its ultimate goal. Number-worshiping lifetime of using his genius as a foundation for both ethical and scientific purposes, in an attempt to wed the universal with the spiritual and the practical, before exploring his own individuality in these realms in the rational epoch to come.

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PATHWAY OF THE ARTIST AS THE MASTER OF ELONGATED FORM:
Storyline: The manneristic minimalist searches for an essence in much of his work, alternately building and destroying and rebuilding his pieces to try to discover the very mystery of life in his sculptural reinterpretations of volume-less form.
Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966) - Swiss sculptor. Outer: Son of a prominent Swiss impressionist, Giovanni Giacometti, brother Diego was also a primitive sculptor and woodworker, as well as his favorite model. Deeply attached to his mother, who lived until her 90s. Encouraged from an early age to become an artist, although showed little early promise in school. Constantly drew throughout his life, although lost his confidence as a linear artist in his late teens. Traveled to Italy with his father, and while walking down a street in Padua, had a vision of several girls in front of him, seeing them lose all proportion and grow immense. Spent the rest of his life, in a sense, integrating that mad moment into his art. Came to Paris at the age of 20, and studied with a sculptor who did corpulent female figures, then officially joined the surrealist movement, working in that mode, until he was expelled for deviations in 1935. Worked mostly from his imagination during this period, in a variety of styles, then afterwards, went back to natural forms for his inspiration. Enjoyed early success, and maintained the same studio for most of the rest of his life. Spent most of WW II in Switzerland, thereby avoiding it, and met his eventual wife, Annette Arm, while working in miniature. During the years of the war, he kept shrinking his figures until they crumbled in his hand, unconsciously reflecting the carnage of his continent. Came back to Paris, as legend had it, with all his work in 6 matchboxes. From tiny figures, he evolved the style by which he is best known, impossibly elongated skinny forms, which gradually built in size over the decades, to become upright standing figures that carried almost no volume on them. Only used a few models for his works, mostly his wife and brother. Had great difficulty in both beginning and ending pieces. Built up his forms and then destroyed them, trying to capture a virtually unattainable essence through them. Also an accomplished painter, although his colored works, too, were reduced in essence so that they were mostly greys or ochres or monochromatic. A late relationship with a young prostitute almost wrecked his marriage. Also had an uneasy friendship with Pablo Picasso, who suspected him of being disapproving of his fame. Died of heart disease and chronic bronchitis, and he was laid to rest close to his parents. Inner: Understood the modern world as a combination of the beautiful and the absurd. Honest, tenacious, obsessive, cared little for the financial aspect of his career. Continually dissatisfied with his efforts, and yet used his frustrations as motivation to further his explorations of simple visual truths. Virtually lived to create, seeing the act as central to his existence. Questioning and questing lifetime of celebrating the precariousness of touch through his sculpture, in his continuing development as one of the primary sculptors of the Western artistic canon. Antonio Canova (1757-1822) - Italian sculptor. Outer: Father was a stonemason who died when his son was 4. Raised by his grandfather, who also plied the same trade. Began his apprenticeship at the age of 11, and moved with his master to Venice. Opened his own studio in 1775, and 4 years later received the first of his many commissions, although his figures were so realistic, he was accused of making plaster casts from live models. Went to Rome the same year, and began studying classical antiquity in various Italian sites, which would give him the foundation for becoming the leading neoclassical sculptor of his age. Returned to Rome in 1781, and made the Eternal City his base for the rest of his artistic life. Executed several commissions for the papacy, in an increasingly Neoclassical, as well as sentimental, style. Went North when the French invaded Rome in 1798, and from that point, supplied sculptures for many of the courts in Europe, serving mostly foreign patrons, including the family of Napoleon Bonaparte, whom he greatly admired. Often worked in the Roman style of yore, aping the old busts and statuary of the earlier emperors, and imbuing them with a sense of grandeur and power. Able to work in all styles, with equal effect, and by the end of the 18th century, he was the most famous artist in Europe. In keeping with his sense of the past, did a statue of George Washington (George C. Marshall) in Roman armor. Also a minor painter, albeit with far less of a feel for coloration and canvas, than form and mass. Made inspector general of fine arts and antiquities for the papal states in 1805, and 1810 was appointed president of the Accademia di S. Luca in Rome, a position he held for life. Created marquis of Ischia by the pope for arranging the return of plundered art treasures following the fall of Napoleon, and continued his prolific output to the end of his life. Designed his own tomb in a temple modeled after the Parthenon, in an assessment of himself as a classicist for the ages. His later reputation suffered because of his role as a reflection of a certain style and age, since he was a mirror of his time, rather than a transcendent figure. Inner: Extremely self-confident, with a surety to his touch in four-dimensional form, although his ultimate pigeonholed reputation probably inspired him in his next go-round to question all he did to allow a far more profound talent to emerge. Very into the monumentality of powerful individuals. Dominating lifetime of mastering the Neoclassical mode, in his ongoing evolution as a central figure in the development of sculpture as an esthetic reflection of each unfolding age. Giambologna (Giovanni da Bologna) (1529-1608) - Italian sculptor. Outer: Trained under a Flemish sculptor who worked in the Italianate style. Went to Rome, where he was deeply influenced by Michelangelo’s (Henri Matisse) work. Settled in Florence in 1557, and spent the remainder of his life there. Won commissions from Francesco de’ Medici (Rudolph Giuliani), for whom he did most of his important work. Achieved great popularity as a maker of garden sculptures, as well as bronze statuettes, with his “Flying Mercury,” his most famous creation. Able to achieve a perfect sense of balance in his spiraling compositions, so as to give movement as well as form to his creations. Also did many fine religious works, showing himself to be adept in any sculptural genre in which he worked. Operated in the elongated Mannerist style, making it a European phenomena. Had a prolific shop with many assistants and trained many artists, as well, who carried his ideas to the rest of Europe. Outside of Michelangelo, he was the most admired sculptor for 3 centuries after his death. Inner: Dominating lifetime of exercising his acute aesthetic in memorable fashion, as well as serving as a pan-European teacher, so as to establish himself as a pivotal figure in the ongoing evolution of sculpture.

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PATHWAY OF THE ARTIST AS LONG-LASTING DESIGNER:
Storyline: The unconflicted architect never lets any private failings interfere with his prolific public life, leaving monuments galore to his uncontested talent, while working both in collaboration and on his own to the continual plaudits of one and all.
Marcel Breuer (1902-1981) - Hungarian/American architect and designer. Outer: Father was a doctor. Had a sister and a brother who both died young. Athletic as a youth, while also evincing an interest in painting and sculpture. 5’9 1/2”, 175 lbs. Went to the Vienna Acad., but, was dissatisfied with it, and went to work for a furniture designer, picking up some practical experience. Finished his schooling at the Bauhaus, receiving an M.A. in 1924, and then taught there for most of the 1920s, absorbing its atmosphere of great creativity, under the direction of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Like him, he became one of the most influential practitioners of the International Style. Martha Earps in 1926, divorced in 1934. Followed the teachings of leader Walter Gropius in combining standardized units to form a simple but complex whole. Invented a tubular metal chair and also did furniture design. In 1928, he began his own private practice in Berlin, before going to London after the Nazis took over to work in partnership for two years there. Emigrated to the U.S. in his mid-30s, taught at Harvard, and reunited with Gropius, to combine Bauhaus ideas with New England regionalism in wood-frame building. Married Constance Leighton in 1940, 2 children from the union. Moved to NYC after WW II and won numerous commissions around the world, finally retiring from practice in his mid-70s. Died at home. Inner: Well-respected as both a teacher and craftsman. Original in his application of materials. Émigré lifetime of international achievement, working in both Europe and America, according to the precepts of the progressive Bauhaus, while periodically suffering personal loss, including his very nationality, to temper his otherwise highly successful use of his talents. Charles Barry (1795-1860) - English architect. Outer: Father was a well-to-do stationer, who died when his 4th son was 10. Showed himself to be an enthusiastic sketcher from childhood, and had a mercantile education at private school. Articled at 15 to some surveyors, he stayed with them for 6 years, at which point, he took a three year tour of Greece, Italy, Egypt and Palestine to study architecture there. Settled in London on his return, and won many architectural commissions, working on churches, private mansions and public buildings. Married Sarah Roswell in 1822, and had 5 sons and 2 daughters. His crowning work was as chief architect of the British Houses of Parliament, which he did over a twenty year period with assistant Augustus W. Pugin (Louis Sullivan). Elected associate of the Royal Academy, and academician the following year. Recipient of many honors, both domestic and foreign and was knighted in his late 50s. His son, Edward, was a noted architect as well, completing his work on one of the houses of Parliament. Died of heart disease and was buried in Westminster Abbey, which he had designed in an earlier life. Inner: Highly esteemed, and a noted landscape gardener as well. Largely blessed lifetime of much honor and landmark governmental designs that would immortalize him. Nicholas Hawksmoor (c1661-1736) - English architect. Outer: From a humble background. Parents were yeomen farmers. At 18, he went to London as pupil and clerk of Christopher Wren (Frank Lloyd Wright). Assisted him on numerous buildings, including St. Paul’s Cathedral and Hampton Court Palace, working in his own small designs, and owing his advancement to the older man’s political connections. Never went on a grand tour to Italy like his wealthier architectural contemporaries, and instead, had to rely on engravings for his knowledge of classical structures. Married, one daughter. Named Clerk of the Works at Kensington Palace in 1689 and Deputy Surveyor of Works at Greenwich in 1705, thanks to Wren, although he lost both posts in 1718, when his sponsor was superseded in his position by William Benson, who placed his own brother in those positions. Worked for numerous high profile clients, as well as Oxford’s various institutions, and showed a high versatility to his work, with each project distinctly different from its predecessor. On Wren’s death in 1723, he became surveyor general of Westminster Abbey, after earlier having designed its west towers. Collaborated with John Vanburgh (Louis Sullivan) on Blenheim Palace for the Marlboroughs, as well as other buildings, serving as his teacher. Worked in a romantic Baroque style, and was one of the earliest designers of picturesque Gothic, designing many churches, as well as university buildings at Oxford. Inner: Highly original and imaginative. Unassuming, even-tempered, modest and diffident, with a great attention to details. Well-designed lifetime of learning his trade under a master, working in concert with a longtime collaborator, and establishing himself as a uniquely gifted builder on his own.

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PATHWAY OF THE ARTIST AS CONFRONTATIVE MOUNTAIN MAN:
Storyline: The groundbreaking goliath steadily expands his metier to match his monumental ego, while continually courting controversy and testing the limits of his promethean desire for recognition and remembrance.
Michael Heizer (1944) - American sculptor. Outer: Paternal grandfather was a mining engineer, and maternal grandfather was chief geologist for the state of California. Father, Robert Heizer, was an archaeologist who taught at Berkeley. At the age of 6, he constructed a city out of discarded objects on a hill by his school, which the school janitor took apart, but the principal allowed to be rebuilt. Traveled to Mexico with his father when he was 12, then spent a year in high school in France, before quitting, preferring to educate himself in the subjects which interested him. Went to Peru and Bolivia when he was 18. Briefly attended the San Francisco Art Institute, and then moved to NYC. Began as a painter, making shaped canvases with spaces carved from their middle, and soon saw his true metier was grandiose sculpture. Started working in monumental terms, using the vast American west as his canvases, and shapes in the ground as his forms, working in the Sierra Nevada and then the Mojave desert, eventually stretching one of his works out over hundreds of miles. Called his oeuvre unsculptures, working with both positive and negative space, as well as high-powered explosives to achieve his desired effects. Had his first one-man show in Munich, Germany in 1969, with a megaton conical scoop called “Munich Depression.” Followed that up by displacing 240,000 tons of earth on opposite sides of the Virgin River mesa in northern Nevada, which he called “Double Negative.” Settled in Nevada in 1972, on an isolated ranch, and the following year, began a long term project called “City,” consisting of immense concrete and dirt structures, with steles of 70 feet, weighing up to a thousand tons, projecting up out of them, over an area that extended over a mile. Got the idea while studying ancient ruins in the Yucatan, and saw it as a way of integrating contemporary American art with the grandiosity of civilizations past. Spent nearly 30 years on the first part, with a projected four more stages to go. Because of the huge costs of the project, he has also worked in more conventional fashion in large-scale sculpture and paint to pay for the project, although harbors ill feelings about the New York art scene, despite its being a source of income for him. Divorced, he had two female assistants helping him, one of whom he married, a painter 21 years his junior, while living close to his work, on a three square mile plot of land, replete with heavy industrial equipment, farm animals, and the requisites of modern life, so that his artistic efforts are thoroughly integrated with his life. Nearly died from polyneuropathy in the late 1990s, a nerve disease contracted from his many hours outdoors in the extremes of high desert weather, as well as his drinking and smoking. Ultimately wound up paralyzed on his left, creative, side, a symbolic bodily statement about his still largely unintegrated character. Eventually got the use of his body back after therapy, and continues with his grand design of re-calibrating nature to match his unique esthetic, while harboring paranoid feelings about government intervention. Inner: Combination of warmth, perfectionism, pessimism, strong will and anxiety, as well as a grim determination to prevail over the monumentality of nature. Extremely competitive with other Earth artists, and filled with resentments galore over the established art scene. Confrontational lifetime of taking on whole civilizations as his projected sculptural canvases, and like his previous go-round, spending decades on his pieces in his ongoing desire to be a nature-bender on the grandest of scales. Gutzon Borglum (John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum) (1871-1941) - American sculptor. Outer: Parents were Mormon converts who had emigrated from Denmark to America. Father was a Danish physician, woodcarver and rancher, who had married 2 sisters. His mother left the family when his sire left the Mormon church and became an American doctor. Moved with his reduced family to Omaha, then California in 1884. His brother also became a sculptor. Angry and rebellious as a youth. Apprenticed himself to a Los Angeles engraver and lithographer, then heatedly quit over a salary dispute, before studying painting at the San Francisco Art Academy, at the behest of Elizabeth Jaynes Putnam, an artist 20 years his senior and a divorcee, whom he married in 1889. Studied in Paris at 2 different schools, staying there for 4 years. Short and balding, with a great determination to be rich and famous before he was 30, which his wife enthusiastically supported. Returned to England, where he affected a lavish lifestyle and was indifferent to debt, before coming to Los Angeles in 1893 and eventually divorcing his wife. Returned to NYC after the turn of the century, and established a studio, abandoning painting for sculpture. Married Mary Montgomery Williams, a Ph d, in 1909 whom he had met on shipboard, 2 children from union, with only one surviving to adulthood. Active on the committee that organized the famous NY Armory Show of 1913, although resigned from it, when he saw it was far too avant-garde, to include traditionalist realists like himself. Commissioned to do a statue of Abraham Lincoln for the Capital rotunda in Washington, D.C., then did a number of public works, including one of the apostles for a church in NYC. Began working on a larger scale, carving a Confederate memorial on Stone Mountain in Georgia, which was interrupted by WW I, but finally completed 7 years later, after he was discharged from the project. Because of the controversy surrounding it, including sponsorship by the KKK, whom he embraced, he ceased working and destroyed his models. Began his most ambitious project in 1927 of supervising the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, ignoring the fact it was on sacred Amerindian land. The granite heads, all 60 feet high, of 4 presidents, were a tremendous engineering feat, and he spent the last 14 years of his life on it. Finally completed by his son in the year he died of a coronary occlusion. Inner: Rapid, intense and highly combative. Tremendous energy, and also highly stubborn and opinionated, which led him into numerous controversies. Patriotic, enthusiastic joiner, and a 32nd degree mason. Pugnacious lifetime of raising his sense of vision to the monumental while constantly courting controversy through his grandiose view of self and life. Bertel Thorvaldson (1770-1844) - Danish sculptor. Outer: Parentage uncertain. His father may have been an Icelandic woodcarver and mother a parish clerk’s daughter. Also may have been the illegitimate offspring of a house-owner and servant. Entered the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen at 11, and wound up winning all the prizes the school had to offer. Made decorative woodcarvings and portrait reliefs to support himself, before going to Rome in his late 20s on a scholarship, where he became one of the leaders in the neoclassical sculptor’s movement, spending the next 16 years there, with commissions galore. Had great respect for antique prototypes, particularly the model of classical Greek art. Made restorations of the ancient Aegineatian marbles for a Bavarian prince. Never married, although had an illegitimate daughter with a longtime love in Italy. In 1819, he returned to his native Denmark, to do a series of statues of Christ and the 12 apostles on a building for a cathedral that had earlier been bombed by the British. The project took 19 years, including a return to Rome, and was not finished until 1838, when he came back once again to Denmark. Had a huge workshop with many assistants, and worked all over Europe as well as in his native Copenhagen. Also an excellent teacher, with many Americans as his students. Prolific portrait sculptor throughout his life, and the foremost sculptor of his time in Europe, although the later assessment of his work was that it was lifeless and inexpressive. Died suddenly in the Copenhagen Royal Theater. Bequeathed his works where they would be seen by the most people, endowing the Thorvald Museum in Copenhagen to be built for for them, and winding up buried in its courtyard under a bed of roses. Inner: Driven, highly ambitious, with a taste for power through artistic craft. Self-inventing lifetime of re-crafting himself from modest and unknown beginnings to a position of pre-eminence in European aesthetic circles, although ultimately sacrificed his artistry for the pure power of recognition and renown.

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PATHWAY OF THE ARTIST AS TRICKSTER/PROVOCATEUR:
Storyline: The impish gadfly ascends his own staircase into the realm of absolute originality, and in doing so, rewrites the rules for modern art, before taking his conjurations out of the gallery and onto the street, as an ongoing innovative innervater.
Banksy (Robin Banks) (1973) - English artist. Outer: Father was a photocopier technician, and he was originally trained to be a butcher. Took to the streets in his native Bristol in his mid-teens as a graffiti artist who was part of the DryBreadZ Crew, although he soon realized he wasn’t quick enough with his spray can to create the kind of works he had in mind without getting caught at it, and so turned to prepared stencils to speed up the process. Had difficulties in school, and after being expelled, drifted into a life of petty crime, which resulted in some detention time. Left Bristol and went to London, where he began doing depictions of London police officers in unlikely tableaus, with his tag a blocky spray-painted signature. Using London as his base, he continued in similar manner in other European capitals, utilizing an impish sense of humor to spray and stencil his images on any and all available walls. His works drew a cult following, and he finally held a conventional exhibition in a warehouse at century’s turn, although only gave the street number and not the street, in keeping with his penchant for secrecy. Adamant about his anonymity, in his role as a “quality vandal,” he has created all sorts of deceptions about himself, conducting interviews only by telephone, and using trusted intermediaries to both deal with the press, and eventually handle sales of his work. A trickster with an antic sense of humor, he once stenciled “We’re bored of fish,” at a penguin exhibit at the London Zoo, among his many pranks. Although his politics are of a leftish bent, he loves to tweak lefty pieties. Had his first solo exhibition at the London gallery Cargo in 2001, and two years later, he slipped into disguises in order to hang his revisionist paintings of traditional masterpieces at the prestigious Louvre and Tate, with a yellow smiley face on the Mona Lisa, and a crime scene tape around a pastoral landscape. Pulled a similar stunt in four NYC museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, which, neverthless, decided to make his contribution a part of their permanent collection. Printed his own coin of the realm, with Princess Diana’s head, rather than the queen, on them, and Banksy of England, replacing Bank of England, in 2004. The following annum, he let loose 200 live rats as part of an exhibition. Has taken his graffiti to the West Bank in Israel, depicting children digging to get over to the other side, as well as a trompe l’oeil scene of a hole in the concrete barrier, revealing a glittering beach behind it. Had his first major American show, after several lesser exhibitions, in Los Angeles in 2006, with a centerpiece of a live elephant painted in a wallpaper design, as indicative of America’s many elephants in the room, in its various refusals to deal with its ongoing blatant issues. Has self-published several books, limning his works in various countries, in order to capture his ephermeral and occasionally painted-over art, beginning with “Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall” in 2001. Despite his anti-establishment stance, his canvases continue to sell for high figures, which only underlines his contempt for both money and power. In 2010, he directed his first film, Exit Through the Gift Shop, a non-self-revelatory street art piece in itself. Inner: Strongly anti-authoritarian, with the prankster ability to subvert any image. Quite meticulous in his detail, with a clean, clear, easily recognizable esthetic. Sly-humored, and seen as a vandal by some, while viewed as a masterful visual commentator by many others. Refuses to sell his work to bigname collectors, while those who have met him say he has something of Dickens’ Artful Dodger about him. Invisible man lifetime of bringing his subversive sensibilities to a much larger stage, through his ongoing complete and utter disrespect for everybody and everything who take themselves far too seriously. Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) - French artist. Outer: Son of a prosperous notary, grandfather was an amateur engraver. Older brother Raymond Duchamp-Villon was a noted sculptor, and a 2nd brother and a sister were also artists. Thin, fine-featured and soft-spoken. Helped by two older male siblings when he went to Paris in his late teens, he drew cartoons for comic magazines, while experimenting with all the modern trends in painting, without committing himself to any of them. Showed himself initially to be a caricatural draftsman, before playing with Fauvism. Finally settled on nonobjective abstraction, and in 1911, did his most famous cubist work, “Nude Descending A Staircase,” an interconnected series of images designed to show pure motion. The painting scandalized the public when shown in Paris, and when it was exhibited in the United States at the Armory Show 2 years later, its audience reacted in shock, which caused him to stop painting at the age of 25. Married Lydie Sarazin-Levassor for 7 months, although far more wedded to his art, forcing his wife to glue his dress pieces to a board in a bid for attention. Fathered a daughter out-of-wedlock, introducing himself to her in her 40s. Decided to challenge the very essence of art, despite his obvious gift, and began producing ready-mades, such as the “Bicycle Wheel,” which was an ordinary bicycle wheel. Assaulted normal sensibilities, thereby opening up the possibility of art existing in virtually everything. Continuing in this provocative vein, he soon found himself working in total isolation, as a trickster/teacher trying to expand esthetic consciousness by himself. At the outbreak of WW I, he came to the United States, because he was exempted from military service. Although he was given a warm welcome, and had many offers from galleries because of his provocative reputation, he refused to resume the conventional career of an artist, and instead offered French lessons and either gave his work away, or sold it at very low prices, while announcing that painting had become bankrupt. Spent 9 months in Buenos Aires, heard of his brother’s death in WW I, and returned to France, where his interest in art declined even more, as he became more fascinated with both movies and machines, and developed an obsession with chess. Allied himself with the Dadaist movement, whose members rejected all tenets of art, and like him, played the role of esthetic tricksters. Began to experiment with optical machines, and became involved with the Surrealists, who were composed of many former Dadaist friends. Organized many of their exhibitions over the next 20 years. At the outbreak of WW II, he smuggled works out of France, and eventually returned to New York, where, unlike his fellow exiles, he felt quite at home. Returned to France 2 years after WW II, but spent most of the rest of his life in NYC, realizing it was now the artistic center of the world. Remarried in his mid-60s and went into semi-retirement, only to be showered with honors and recognition by the contemporary art world for his prescience and extraordinary inventiveness, after a lifetime of largely being ignored by the public. Inner: Class clown of modern art. Deliberately provocative and highly intellectual, with the heart of a trickster and the soul of a deeply gifted artist. Sly coyote lifetime of serving as a teacher/exemplar of the over/riding esthetic sensibilities that pervade all worlds here, not just the defined and limited boundaries of accepted artistry. Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827-1875) - French sculptor, painter, architect and draftsman. Outer: From humble beginnings, father was a bricklayer who wanted his son to be a mason, mother was a lace-maker. Eldest of 5. The family moved to Paris when he was 11, although he continued to retain ties to his provincial hometown. The family then emigrated to the U.S., leaving him in Paris. Studied with an eminent sculptor and then worked for 10 years at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts to win the Prix de Rome in 1854, suffering an eye infection after getting it, thanks to his erratic temperament. Lived in Rome for a chaotic 8 years, where poor health continued to afflict him, and was influenced by the masters of the High Renaissance. On returning to France, he became a favorite with the court of Napoleon III (Darryl F. Zanuck), and won many portrait commissions. Unhappily married in his early 40s. His best known work is the facade of the Paris Opera, which was attacked as immoral, and deeply offended the traditionalists of the French Academy, because it redefined the possibilities for sculptural expression. The work was vandalized and threatened with removal, and cemented his reputation as an artistic provocateur. His sense of the dramatic had a freedom and force that distinguished it from the largely derivative sculpture of the period, and served as a prelude to the later work of Auguste Rodin (Robert Rauschenberg). At the end of his career, he became extremely sensitive to criticism and continued hostility, and descended into paranoia. Estranged from his wife, he left France and lived for a time in London, returned to France, lost his health and finally succumbed to cancer. Inner: Intensely emotional, found release in notebook drawing, which he did everywhere. Suffered a lot of inner turbulence, as well as ill health, as reflection of his own discomfort with himself. Highly original, transcending the accepted sculptural cliches of his time. Seesaw lifetime of adhering to his artistic vision, only to fall victim to the unbalanced nature that lay behind his own originality. Pierre Puget (1620-1694) - French sculptor, painter, architect and draftsman. Outer: Son of a master mason, largely self-taught, as was his brother, a sculptor. Married Paule Boulet in his late 20s, one son became a painter. Traveled in Italy in his early 20s, and was employed by a muralist to work on the palatial ceiling decorations in both Florence and Rome. Returned to France, where he was active in Marseille and Toulon for the next dozen years as both a painter and carver of gigantic figureheads for men-of-war ships. Put much emotion in his caryatid figures, reflecting Michelangelo (Henri Matisse) in the tensions of his pieces. Went to Paris, and won a commission from Nicholas Fouquet (Bernard Baruch), finance minister to the king. While in Rome selecting marble, his patron fell from power, and he remained in Italy for several years, establishing himself in Genoa. Returned to Marseille and Toulon for the latter part of his career, where he worked as an architect, but alienated the king’s chief minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert (J.P. Morgan), so that he did not receive any more royal patronage until later on in life. Became a victim of court intrigues, and suffered an embittered end-life, with his larger ambitions frustrated by his inability to temper his high opinion of himself with a sense of social grace. His expressive baroque style influenced later sculptors. Inner: Arrogant and difficult, but with a superb sense of sculptural esthetics. Slow, methodical worker. Saw himself as heroic and lonely, apart from everyone else because of his genius. Alienated lifetime of using art to try to integrate his difficult emotionality, while continuing his pathway as a completely unique and original creative force. Antonio del Pollaiuolo (1432-1498) - Italian artist, sculptor and engraver. Outer: Son of a goldsmith, who probably kept a chicken coop, hence his name. Brother of Piero del Pollaiuolo (Raymond Ducamp-Villon) who worked in close concert with him, although he was the dominant of the two. Learned metalworking and goldsmithing from his father, as well as from Andrea del Castagna (Jean-Luc Godard) Married, 2 daughters from union. Became one of the most influential men of his time, practicing and uniting all the arts as sculptor, painter, anatomist, and goldsmith. Had a particularly strong grasp of the nude figure, allowing him to exhibit bodily tension, flexibility and movement in his work. Probably the first painter to dissect corpses, and to give anatomy its esthetic due. Worked in close concert with his brother, although his individual efforts clearly show him as the superior artist. Great teacher as well as a great artist. Commissioned to adorn the grand salon of the de’ Medici palace, where he did his most memorable mythological work. Went to Rome with his brother, where he finished his career, executing tombs for two popes and working in the Vatican Grottoes of St. Peter’s. Inner: Highly original and one of the seminal figures of High Renaissance Italian art. More balanced lifetime of giving expression to the athletic paganism of the High Renaissance, as well as working in close concert with a fellow family member, which probably lessened the sense of alienation he felt in the succeeding lives in this series.

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PATHWAY OF THE ARTIST AS MODEST HUMANIST:
Storyline: The integrated artisan brings a well-sculpted heart to his ongoing celebration of the grandeur and glory of humanity through his well-received work and ability to transliterate his uplifting sentiments into enduring works of art.
Henry Moore (1898-1986) - English sculptor. Outer: 4th son and 7th of 8 children of a coal miner, who taught himself math and engineering, and became a pit deputy. The two would have a relationship of mutual respect, rather than love. Mother, who was also the daughter of a miner, would prove to be the rock of his happy physical childhood. Despite immense physical stamina, she had rheumatism, and he used to rub her back, getting the feel of her humanity in his fingers. His strict, authoritarian father had high goals for all his progeny and wanted him to be a schoolteacher, but he had an abiding interest in sculpture from the age of 10, after discovering Michelangelo (Henri Matisse). Brought up in the Church of England, and went through a teenage religious phase, before seeing his sense of the divine in nature. Won a scholarship to a secondary school where his interests broadened under the ministrations of Alice Gostick, while he received some instruction in sculpting and briefly taught at his old elementary school, per his father’s demands. Short and stocky. Served for a while as a volunteer in 1917 in WWI, where he was gassed and survived a major German assault, but recovered after being sent back to England as a stretcher case, and became a bayonet instructor. With Gostick’s help, he was accept at art school in Leeds on a veteran’s scholarship, and then, in 1921, at the Royal College of Art in London, where he was impressed by African tribal sculpture and pre-Columbian Mexican works. Understood the importance of academic training for drawing and modeling from life, and drew from all sorts of sculptural traditions, with a particular affinity for unconventional beauty, and large masses and forms. Taught at his alma mater, and traveled to Italy to deepen his knowledge of various traditions, only to wind up confused over what he saw, before returning to ancient Mexican art as his true inspiration. After several rejections by other women, in his early 30s, he married Irina Radetzki, a Russian émigré painting student. One daughter from the long and happy union, while his wife subsequently became his frequent model, as well as an extremely constructive critic of his work. Enjoyed a decade of innovation and mass acceptance during the 1930s, despite some critical carping, while ending his association with the Royal Academy, and teaching at the Chelsea School of Art until 1940. Joined a Marxist group of artists during the decade in response to the rising tide of European fascism, during his most outwardly political period. His early experimental works in abstract form were unsuccessful because of a deliberate desire not to please conventional taste, but during the blitz of London, he did some drawings in the underground shelters of the huddled heroism of Britain and won acclaim from them. A retrospective by the New York Museum of Modern Art after the war brought him an international reputation as a humanistic monumentalist. His reclining figures and family groupings, as well as his conspicuous donut holes in them, which created interior spaces much like caves in rocks, made him even more celebrated. Continued to experiment throughout his long life, turning to bronze as his primary medium, and living in tranquil surroundings, while employing assistants, as his reputation as the preeminent English sculptor of his time grew. More interested in shaping mass and weight than in pure line, while always employing the human form as his measure. Much honored in the latter part of his life, and extremely prolific throughout his eight decades, while using natural forms as his primary source of inspiration his final thirty years. Had a prostate operation several weeks before his death at home. Inner: Unprepossessing, warm, gregarious, modest, gentle, and at peace with himself, with a charming sense of fun. Fascinated by the correlation between the human figure and craggy landscape forms. Collected bones and pebbles, which were often the starting points of his works. Well-integrated lifetime of making an esthetic marriage between the primitive and the modern from a balanced perspective. John Flaxman (1755-1826) - English sculptor and illustrator. Outer: 2nd son of a shopkeeper and plaster cast maker. Rickety and ill-shapen as a youngster, he was not expected to live, but from the age of 10, his health began to mend. After his mother died, he was kept at home, save for brief schooling. Worked in his father’s store, drawing and studying classical literature, which would be a continuing source of inspiration for him. Looked feeble, but had a robust interior. Entered the Royal Academy school, married Anne Denham in his late 20s, and he and his wife were very close. Did design cameos for Wedgwood pottery, and had lifelong friendship with poet/artist William Blake. In 1787, he went to Rome for 7 years, where he directed the Wedgwood studio there, and also studied ancient art. Produced sculpture groups, and did line drawings for the works of Homer, winning fame as the leading exponent of neoclassicism through his illustrations. Returned to London and did numerous monuments, which ensured his reputation as a sculptor as well. Also illustrated classical works. Elected a member of Royal Academy in 1800 and became its first professor of sculpture. Produced an enormous output in the last part of his life, from small commissions to very large works in the round. Caught cold in a church and died of a lung inflammation. Inner: Strong moral purpose, with a sense of artistic mission. Well-integrated lifetime of looking to the past for his inspiration, and bringing it up to present esthetic consciousness, while maintaining his equilibrium as an artist and a person, thanks to a handsome heart that celebrated his ongoing humanistic spirit, and more than compensated for his seemingly weak outer frame.

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PATHWAY OF THE ARTIST AS CELEBRATOR OF THE COMMONPLACE:
Storyline: The modular modeler gives artistic expression to the ordinary by replicating it in frozen white liberated friezes, after an earlier highly politicized go-round of giving monumentality to the the champions of the common worker and the hearths and homes that nurtured them.
George Segal (1924-2000) - American sculptor. Outer: Parents emigrated from Eastern Europe. Father ran a small kosher butcher shop in the Bronx, then the family moved to New Jersey to manage a chicken farm, which his son later ran unsuccessfully. Had an unpretentious working-class upbringing. Studied art at several different schools, getting his advanced degrees at the State Univ. of New Jersey. Also studied education, getting his teaching degree from NYU but was slow to find a distinct direction in his work. His teachers were all abstract impressionists, while he preferred hands-on-art. Married Helen Steinberg in 1946, two children from the union. Studied painting with a well-known artist, before beginning his career as an abstract painter in 1953. His paintings, however, didn’t sell, despite good critical notices, and he continued to operate a chicken farm he had bought in 1949, until 1958. Taught high school and at a community center art for 6 years, during which time he had a “happening” staged on his farm by an artist who combined theater and visual arts. Began sculpting in 1958, eventually working directly from human bodies in 1961, beginning with his own. Created ordinary moments, and then chose suitable models, protecting their hair and skin with cream and wrapping their bodies in bandages soaked in plaster of Paris. Became associated with the Pop art movement, and was most noted for these lifelike plaster groupings, which give off an odd ghostly effect with their mundane poses and props. Also made sculptures that reinterpreted classic subjects in Western art. Muscular and bespectacled. In the early 1970s, he discovered a technique with liquid plaster that gave his work a finer sense of detail. Had his first major sculpture exhibit in Paris, and from that time was held in consistently high regard for his white tableaux of people frozen in ordinary attitudes, in an ongoing exploration of the ordinary as high art. Also began doing partial figures and reliefs, with a focus on the sensuous nature of his subjects, after realizing the body is sub-divisible into any number of parts that still can convey a wholeness. Had a very full working life, continually challenging himself and died of cancer. Inner: Down-to-Earth, unpretentious, private, and enamored of the human form as the ultimate expression of his esthetic. Saw himself as both an abstract and representational artist, which allowed him the freedom of playing in all sorts of ways with whole and partial areas of his subjects. Continually searched for authentic detail, reworking every inch of his figures, with a desire to take sculpture off its pedestal, as a portrayer of solitude and alienation. Hands-on lifetime of exploring the esthetics of the ordinary through its extraordinary duplication and re-rendering, in his ongoing fascination with the anonymous backbone of society. Aime-Jules Dalou (1838-1902) - French sculptor. Outer: Father was a glove-maker. Had a workingclass upbringing, with which he proudly and passionately identified. Began modeling clay as a youth, with an instinctive feel for form. Studied with Jean-Baptiste Carpaux (Marcel Duchamp), who discovered him and gave him his classical style. Accepted at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, but resented academic instruction, despite a 3 year stay there. Failed to win the Prix de Rome on 4 occasions, which turned him towards decorative sculpting. Married in 1866, several children. Drew little notice during the 1860s, but in 1870, he established himself with a work based on ordinary folk, inspired in part by the paintings of Jean Millet (Ben Shahn). Did several mother and child groupings, as well as compassionate, albeit somewhat sentimental simple workers. A staunch Republican with left-wing sympathies, he was forced into exile after the fall of the Paris Commune in 1871. Went into hiding with his family, then lived and worked in London, where his intimate and maternal sculptures were enthusiastically received, and remained there until the amnesty of 1879, when he returned to Paris. After receiving his first public commission for a monument in 1877, his focus changed completely to large-scale celebrations of great men and great ideals, and the last quarter century of his life, he did public sculpture of moral and social significance. Named to the Legion d'Honneur, and was extremely prolific during the latter part of his life. Planned a monument to workers at the end of his life as his crowning achievement, but did not live long enough to realize it. Inner: Private and somewhat secretive. Believed in democracy, social order and manual labor as morally right. Saw a universal Republican brotherhood as the ultimate social order, and dedicated himself to rendering it in art. Politicized lifetime of celebrating both the commonplace of home and hearth and the monumentality of great men and great ideals in the service of the eternal human struggle for dignity.

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PATHWAY OF THE ARTIST AS IN AND OUT-OF-CONTROL ARTISAN:
Storyline: The multi-media maid shows herself to be extremely gifted in whatever art-form she chooses, and finally figures out a mode to conquer and control her ongoing internal demons, by allowing her creative instincts dominance over her previous equal draw towards self-destruction.
Sophie Calle (1953) - French conceptual artist. Outer: Mother was a book critic and press attache. Father was a physician, art collector and critic who became a modern art museum director in Nimes. After her parents separated, she went to live with her mother. Gave herself a sense of structure in childhood by organizing rituals around her everyday existence. After high school, she traveled in the U.S., Mexico and Asia, working as a barmaid, field hand and model. While in California in 1978, she got into photography, and began doing oddball series such as “Sleepers,” where strangers slept in her bed. Worked as a stripper in a Pigalle nightclub, and realized that her life could be seen as a performance. Instead of being buried in her emotions, as she has in the past, they would become the subjective passion behind her work, so that she could deal with herself at a remove. Decided in the late 1970s that the collected effluvia of her life could be turned into both ritual and art, with a particular emphasis on the texts she writes around them. Deeply ambivalent about her career until she was discovered almost by accident in 1980. Fame would come later in the decade, via solo and group shows, as well as videos. Married her traveling partner, Greg Sheppard in Las Vegas, although the two would later separate. Combines text, photographs and collages of material to examine herself, creating fetishes around pain and loss to perform therapy on herself, so that she is able to deal with her emotions by transmuting them into something more universal. Extremely well-received for what she does, since it touches on the core of many lives. Has had numerous thematic exhibitions, and has developed a large following through them. Maintains a home, which was a former factory, outside of Paris which serves as a virtual anthropological museum of her existence. Also spends part of the year in NYC. Inner: Soft-spoken, funny and under control, thanks to her fetish for turning feeling into art. Has repeatedly explored the theme of voyeurism. Healing lifetime of finally finding a metier and artistic philosophy to allow her to gain control over her existence, after many a go-round of permitting her demons dominant sway. Camille Claudel (1864-1943) - French sculptress. Outer: Mother was extremely cold, father was a wealthy civil servant. Sister of poet and diplomat Paul Claudel, who was always very close to her. Taught by nuns between the age of 5 and 12, and then had a private tutor, when the family moved, so that her sire could take another post. Showed her artistic abilities by the age of 12, doing mostly portraits. Her father had an extensive library, and she was largely self-taught from her teenages onward. Studied anatomy on her own, dissected animals, and understood musculature completely Showed a precocious gift for sculpture, and was encouraged by her family to continue to pursue it, although her mother was scandalized that she did nudes. When she was 17, her father was posted in Paris and she went to the Colarossi Academy, where she completed her art education. Met sculptor Auguste Rodin (Robert Rauschenberg) when she was 19, and he nearly a quarter century older. Became pupil, model, muse and mistress to him in serial order, much to the dismay of both his own longtime mistress and her family. Worked on his undertakings, thanks to her adeptness at hands and feet, and graduated to doing some of the figures for his monumental “Gates of Hell,” as she expanded her own considerable skills, while continuing to live at home. Her work would be strongly influenced by him, showing both a strength and delicate grace, as well as a rawness and vulnerability. In 1888, she moved into her own apartment near Rodin’s studio. Although he was nominally connected with a longtime live-in mistress who had little interest in art, he refused to leave her, and their relationship began to corrode, so that by 1893, it was over, and she was both living and working alone. Became more and more unstable, as well as reclusive as she threw everything into her art, reducing herself to poverty, although she produced some extremely memorable work, including “L’Age Mur,” which showed a middle-aged man moving toward an elderly woman and rejected a young beautiful one. Rodin saw himself in it, and tried to suppress the work, which added to her paranoia. Continued to exhibit and create, but showed an equal bent for destruction, often destroying her pieces with a hammer, while blaming Rodin for her ills, and feeling persecuted by him and his supporters. Eventually stopped sculpting, and fell victim to her roiling interior. Disintegrated to the point where her family had to forcefully put her in an asylum in 1913, days after her father had died. The following year, she was transferred to another one, from which she never emerged. Abandoned art entirely, and spent her time gardening, dying there some 3 decades later. Inner: Extremely gifted, but equally unstable. Willful, vulnerable and raw. Gates of Hell lifetime of allowing her craft to be superseded by her destructiveness, making her ultimately a prisoner of her own paranoia, and an isolated self-contained sculpture totally cut off from the world. Constance Charpentier (Constance Blondeau) (1767-1841) - French painter. Outer: Trained under several well-known artists, including Louis David, and showed herself to be largely a sentimentalist at heart, working mostly in the genres of portraits and family scenes. Exhibited in 10 salons between 1795 and 1819, and received much praise for her work, including a gold medal from the Musee Royale in 1819. Her best known piece, “Mademoiselle Charlotte du Val d’Ongres,” had long been attributed to David, until it was finally authenticated to her over a century and a half later. Suddenly stopped exhibiting at the height of her fame, for no known reason, and spent the rest of her life in obscurity. Little known about her personal life. Inner: More than likely suffered some sort of personal crisis which ended her public career, perhaps an onset of the internal imbalance which she would act out far more directly in the next go-round in this series. Largely hidden lifetime of working in a similar mode to the other contemporary woman of her period, before disappearing into herself in the same Shiva manner that all who do battle with creative/destructive instincts undergo, before finally finding the right balance to allow the former to ultimately prevail.

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