 |
| Perseus and Andromeda 1794 plaster (cast of Roman marble relief, 2nd century AD in the Capitoline Museum, Rome) Royal Academy of Arts, London |
 |
| Woman and Sacrificial Bull 19th century plaster (cast of Roman marble relief, 2nd century AD in the Uffizi, Florence) Royal Academy of Arts, London |
 |
| Hermes, Eurydice and Orpheus 18th century plaster (cast of Roman marble relief, 2nd century AD in the Museo Archeologico, Naples) Royal Academy of Arts, London |
 |
| The Giustiniani Apollo 18th century plaster (cast of Roman marble head, 2nd century AD in the British Museum) Royal Academy of Arts, London |
 |
| Colossal Head of Asklepios 19th century plaster (cast of Greek marble head, 4th century BC in the British Museum) Royal Academy of Arts, London |
 |
| Bacchus 19th century plaster (cast of Roman marble bust, 2nd century AD in the Capitoline Museum, Rome) Royal Academy of Arts, London |
 |
| Crouching Venus early 19th century plaster (cast of Roman marble statue, 2nd century BC in the Vatican Museums, Rome) Royal Academy of Arts, London |
 |
| The Esquiline Venus late 19th century plaster (cast of Roman marble statue, 1st century AD in the Capitoline Museum, Rome) Royal Academy of Arts, London |
 |
| The Dancing Faun ca. 1780 plaster (cast of Roman marble statue, 3rd century AD in the Uffizi, Florence) Royal Academy of Arts, London |
 |
| The Borghese Gladiator ca. 1880 plaster (cast of Roman marble statue, 1st century BC in the Louvre, Paris) Royal Academy of Arts, London |
 |
| The Capitoline Antinous early 19th century plaster (cast of Roman marble statue, 2nd century AD in the Capitoline Museum, Rome) Royal Academy of Arts, London |
 |
| Cincinnatus 18th century plaster (cast of Roman marble statue, 1st century AD in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptothek Copenhagen) Royal Academy of Arts, London |
 |
| Apoxyomenos late 19th century plaster (cast of Roman marble statue, 1st century AD in the Vatican Museums, Rome) Royal Academy of Arts, London |
 |
| The Wrestlers 18th century plaster (cast of Roman marble statue group, 1st century AD in the Uffizi, Florence) Royal Academy of Arts, London |
 |
| Antinous as Bacchus late 18th century plaster (cast of Roman marble bust, 2nd century AD in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge) Royal Academy of Arts, London |
Ars Poetica
Some people actually manage to make money by it,
But most of us just enjoy it as it enters our lives
With the intermittent periodicity
Of those optional holidays – Arbor Day or Mardi Gras –
We can celebrate or ignore as we choose.
Of course, a devotee can fill his calendar
(As Henry James notoriously did, dining out
Every night of the week in his London years),
But a majority are, as it were, hobbyists,
And once they exit adolescence lose
That special drive that keeps the driven few driven –
Who rarely ask why they feel this peculiar need.
Is it to please? Not on the evidence.
Exceptional competence can lead to celebrity
On a par with a movie star's, but do you
Honestly believe most aspirants aspire so far?
They do it for love. They do it because
At some point in their green youth
They were pierced, like apples or bull's-eyes,
By the everlasting dart. Of art?
Goodness no. Haven't you been listening?
– Tom Disch (2002)