We worked with our partner Art Studio Demetz in Italy on an original bronze statue of St. Cecilia for the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia motherhouse in Nashville, Tennessee.
Custom religious statues are individual works of art. The artist starts with a pencil sketch based on the client’s description and then creates a bozetto, which is a miniature or full-size clay model. For bronze statues, a full-sized clay model is used to create a wax mold that will melt away during casting. The “lost wax” method has changed little since ancient times.
Bronze statues can be intricately detailed and lifelike, and highly durable. Even outdoors, it ages gracefully. The patina, or finish, may darken over time due to oxidation, but this can be abated with proper cleaning and waxing at least once per year.
In recent years we have provided original bronze statues of St. Joseph the Worker, St. Louis Bertrand and various prominent Greeks and Greek Americans. We also offer custom religious statues in fiberglass and bronze finish.
Little is known about Cecilia’s early life. She was Roman, and may have been born into a noble, pagan family. But her faith was so strong that when she was forced to marry, her husband honored her vow of chastity and converted as well. After an attempted beheading, she lingered for three days, and “even in her dying condition, she continued to offer the witness of a vibrant faith, hope and charity that would not die.”
She is considered the patron saint of musicians, and is often depicted with a harp. More images of the statue are below. To see it in its setting in the Dominican Sisters’ motherhouse, click here.
