The love padlocks, called cadenas d’amour, multiplied until there were thousands of love tokens on the bridge, each engraved with a message of love. (Photo by Charles Platiau/Reuters)

American sculptor Michael Alfano has been sculpting for over fifteen years. A native of New York, he now lives and works in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. His major influences are Salvador Dali, Jo Davidson, and Jean-Antoine Houdon, as well as Buddhist, Taoist, Sufi and other eastern philosophy and literature. He first studied at the Art Students League of New York, with an emphasis on life-size sculpture from the model. His formal education continued at Boston University and was augmented by internships with several prominent sculptors.

French National Front party deputy Marion Marechal-Le Pen attends the questions to the government session at the National Assembly in Paris April 14, 2015. (Photo by Charles Platiau/Reuters)

Models get ready backstage before the presentation of the Etam Live Show Lingerie at the Fashion Week in Paris, France, September 27, 2016. (Photo by Charles Platiau/Reuters)

A Maori warrior prepares to challenge Prince Charles during his welcome to Takanhanga Marae in Kaikoura, New Zealand November 23, 2019. (Photo by Tracey Nearmy/Reuters)

Megan Thee Stallion performs during the MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP Photo)

A dog attends the Pet Gala fashion show at AKC Museum of The Dog, Monday, May 20, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP Photo)

A man walks past a neon soaked street scene mural titled “Belfast – Blurry Eyed” by Dan Kitchener, also known as DANK on March 1, 2018 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)