Konrad and Alexandra (pdf) - Rolf Gross

Despite the scarf, Alexandra could taste the marble dust. "I am impressed by your
power and endurance. It must take weeks to finish one of these sculptures."
Clara nodded. "Three months on a piece of this size, if you are lucky and the block is
uniform and does not break. One wrong blow and the piece could be ruined. In every marble
shop you find spoiled blocks hidden away, and a good block is expensive. You see why Rodin,
who produces a dozen such pieces a year, keeps himself an army of slaves and why they have
such a high turnover. In the beginning you get muscle-bound after a few days."
"Would you show me the sketches from which you work?" asked Alexandra.
Clara brought her sketches and the layout plans for the two figures and spread them on
the table on the terrace. "The most important time is in the very beginning, sizing up the stone,
looking for faults in the material and laying out a plan of how to attack the raw block. The first
blows are very exciting, and often we have to alter the original sketches to suit the block. To
the very end it is a fight, a happening full of suspense. I do carry the vision of the final piece in
my mind like a precious icon."
The children were having a marriage quarrel. "I don’t like fathers!" cried Ruth. Otto
stamped his foot. "But I don’t want to play mother, I am a boy."
Clara sighed deeply. "The loss of her father is very hard on her. Did you see the bronze
bust? This is he. He has become famous and is admired by many women, but he is incapable
of supporting a family. We separated amicably and are not divorced, at the moment he lives in
Paris. Occasionally, he visits us which always leaves me in a deep depression for weeks. I am
afraid I still love him too much. Whacking away at this beautiful but recalcitrant stone is my
therapy."
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