Bernini, a workaholic.

Rape of Proserpina (detail).
Borghese Gallery

Bernini said that if he put together all the hours he spent on meals and sleep in his lifetime, he doubted whether they would add up to a full month.
He would labor for seven hours without interruption on a block of marble.
Often Bernini proceeded without a terra-cotta model and sometimes even without a subject in front of him, realizing a vision that resided in his mind.