Caproni Collection

Taking a sculpture out of the mold always feels like magic! This is a cast of the left eye from the sculpture of David. Our molds stem from the ORIGINAL David in Florence!

David was originally placed in the Piazza della Signoria (where a marble replica is today) and is now in the Accademia Gallery. Three times the height of a man, David stands almost 17 feet tall (about 203 inches) and was carved from a single block of marble. The piece was intended as one of several sculptures to be placed on the buttresses of the dome at the Cathedral of Florence. However, after seeing it, a committee agreed that the sculpture, with its beautifully articulated human body and genius composition, deserved a more prominent location, and so it was placed in the Piazza upon completion.

Trajan’s Column in Rome dates from the 2nd century. It stands at 126 feet high and towers over its surroundings. The frieze spiraling the height of the monument is a narrative of the Dacian wars and the victory achieved by Roman Emperor Trajan.

There might be a fly in the ointment…

This is our plaster cast of the Belvedere torso, in a reduced size. The original is a marble of a male n**e torso signed by the Athenian sculptor Apollonius, the son of Nestor, and was long thought to be a 1st-century B.C.E. original. It is now believed that Apollonius copied a 2nd century original. The had much influence on late , early sculptors and was much studied by the likes of .

We create objects of timeless beauty for you to enjoy… and have fun doing it!

The Caproni Collection produces and sells plaster reproductions of famous sculptures. Every piece is made in-house and by hand. They can be finished in a variety of patinas. We currently offer about 700 pieces in a wide range of sizes that span from ancient art to art of the early 20th century, and we are constantly reintroducing to the Collection once-lost Caproni pieces.

Yeah… our camera roll is not too scandalous. You can see the work in progress that goes on in our studio every day! Let us make your new favorite sculpture!

What’s in the mold?
It took me soooo long to find out, and I found out. 🤣

It’s our Lion of Lucerne plaque! Here’s some info about it.

A former Swiss Guardsman, Karl Pfyffer von Altishofen, convinced Danish artist Bertel Thorvaldsen in 1818 to create a model for the controversial monument he desired to commission. The monument would memorialize the men of the Swiss Guard regiment who died protecting the French king Louis XVI’s palace known as the Tuileries during the French Revolution. Between then and the time of the commission, Switzerland had become independent of France. Creating a monument that was going to appear loyalist would be contentious, and so it was. From the monument’s conception through its dedication, it was both praised and criticized. Over the years, however, Switzerland has come to claim the monument as its own, as a monument to the Swiss people.

Read more on our website, Capronicollection.com

This life-size mask is from Houdon’s study in preparation for a marble sculpture of Saint John the Baptist. It was one of his first commissions, and he was only 25 years old. Upon seeing the , his friends and colleagues recognized it as an important artwork in its own right and suggested he make a mold of it to produce copies. Houdon’s anatomical study became widely popular. He gave and sold many copies of it to academies and schools. Early on he omitted the tree trunk which would have been used to support the finished marble figure’s weight. The study continues to be utilized by artists today for its beautiful representation of the . Early copies are located at the Académie de France in Rome, the Schlossmuseum Gotha in Germany, the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, the École supérieure d’art et design Le Havre-Rouen in Normandy, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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