Giambologna's remarkable and prolific career is the missing link between the Renaissance and the Baroque, between Michelangelo and Bernini, and between medieval and modern conceptions of how a sculptor's career is conducted. So many elements which Giambologna pioneered in his work - casting works in editions, jobbing out technical aspects of sculpture to specialists, and the decorative, small scale female nude for popular consumption - are still with us today.

The sculptor of the famous Perseus and Medusa, Benvenuto Cellini, might have been a one-hit wonder if it were not for his other masterpiece, his Autobiography - the first from an artist. In his book, Cellini details the construction and casting of his Perseus - a precious firsthand account of a Renaissance sculptor at work - as well as his exploits as a nasty, brutish, jealous, pandering thug who murdered and raped his way through life. Your shameless host Jason Arkles brings the Autobiography to life in a dramatic reading, complete with cheap sound effects and silly voices.

In this Episode, Jason provides a forum for current events in the world of figurative sculpture. Notable exhibitions in museums around the world, exhibition opportunities for sculptors, and listener mail.

The Divine Michelangelo - The man could do no wrong. ...At least, according to Michelangelo. One of his lasting legacies, apart from his art, is the mythology about his life and work that he himself perpetuated through the commissioning of a biography. But legends aside, Michelangelo still is one of the gresatest artists ever to have lived. This episode discusses his early years as an artist, his training and his influences, his early successes and even his (gasp!) mistakes. he was only human, after all (despite rumors to the contrary).

The history of canons of proportions and their use by sculptors is discussed in this week's episode. From the Egyptians up to the present day, artists have sought the key to caputring an ideal, or a norm, in human form. As it happens, notions of ideals - and of what we consider normal - change over time, which has given rise to dozens of canons practiced by different artists at different times. Host Jason Arkles discusses several, and how artists have always sought to tie the measurements of the human form to other notions of perfection- be it the sacred, or geometry - or even sacred geometry.