Praxiteles

I have made the gods in my own image.

The true beauty lies in the softness of the flesh, not in the hardness of the stone.

To capture the fleeting moment of grace is the sculptor's highest aim.

My figures breathe, they do not merely stand.

The marble must yield to the touch, as if it were living skin.

I seek to evoke emotion, not merely to represent form.

The human body is the most divine of all creations.

Let the viewer feel the warmth of the skin, the softness of the hair.

The true artist reveals the soul within the stone.

I sculpt not what I see, but what I feel.

The Aphrodite of Knidos is my greatest triumph, for she is truly alive.

To make the stone weep with beauty, that is my goal.

The gods are not distant, they are within us, and I bring them forth.

My art is a whisper, not a shout.

The curve of a hip, the tilt of a head – these are the secrets of beauty.

I give form to the divine, and make it accessible to all.

The sculptor's hand is but a tool for the heart's vision.

Beauty is not in perfection, but in the subtle imperfections that make us human.

I seek to capture the moment just before a breath, just before a movement.

The gods are not always grand; sometimes they are tender and vulnerable.