The greatest sculptor in Florence between the time of Donatello and the rise of Michelangelo, Andrea del Verrocchio explored figurative composition like no sculptor before him - but his greatest contribution to art might be in the painters he taught - from Ghirlandaio and Signorelli, to Leonadro da Vinci himself.

In a career cut short by an early death, Desiderio Da Settignano nevertheless managed to rival Donatello in relief work, and re-invent the genre of child portraiture in sculpture, bringing the Age of Ugly Renaissance Babies to a thankful end.

"I tried to fire my sculpture once, and it blew up in the kiln." -And thus endeth the exploration of terracotta sculpture for many a clay modeller. But it doesn't have to be that way! In this Shop Talk episode, Jason discusses tips and tricks, principles and practices of modelling figurative work for firing into terracotta.

New kid on the Florentine block Luca Della Robbia didn't have to reinvent the wheel in sculpture, like the sculptors of the generation before him had to; instead, he started with those new wheels and invented the bicycle. Learning lessons from not just sculptors, but from painters and even potters, Luca developed a style, and a genre, all his own. And he did it with Dolcezza.

Cosimo de' Medici - Cosimo Pater Patriae, Father of the Country -was one of the wealthiest, most powerful and most intelligent men in Europe, and had a cantankerous, stick-in-the-mud sculptor as a best friend. This episode explores what made the Medici the Medici, and how a collaboration between secular power and the Renaissance Avant-Garde led to Donatello's striking and controversial David.

The Representational Art Conference was the largest event of the year for the world of figurative art. Host Jason Arkles speaks with Michael Pearce, Alicia Ponzio, and Poppy Field, all participants in this year's TRAC in different ways.

Orsanmichele is the unique name of a unique church in Florence, a site many consider to be the most significant in Florence for early Renaissance sculpture. In this episode, we explore the changes in sculpture that took place when sculptors began working not for the glory of God, but for the glory of Guild...

The Sculptor's Funeral interviews medallic artist Heidi Wastweet, a sculptor who has devoted her career to the art of relief sculpture, coins, and medals. Wastweet offers us all a fascinating glimpse into a branch of the sculpture arts that few of us explore.

Donatello - the greatest sculptor of the the really Florentine Renaissance. But why? And how is it that so few of us today know anything about him? The Sculptor's Funeral explores the nature of his genius to show how Donatello practically invented the aesthetic of early renaissance sculpture.

"They are so beautiful that they would do well for the gates of Paradise." That's a pretty high compliment, just for a set of decorative bronze doors - but when we find that the doors took 27 years to make, and the compliment is from the mouth of Michelangelo, perhaps there's something to it...