Peter Demetz has a gift for breathing life into wood, a material that seems hard and lifeless to most of us. His wooden sculptures of people are flawlessly life-like.

The Italian artist’s mastery of human anatomy makes his sculptures look like paintings or sketches, and his wonderful compositions and sense of perspective help perpetuate this illusion. The grain of the wood and its warm colors, however, give them a tactile appearance that would be difficult to fake with paint.

Scroll down to see some of our favorite works and like and comment on your favorites!

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