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China
Artifacts from China date back as early as 10,000 BC and skilled Chinese artisans
had been active very early in history, but the bulk of what is
displayed as sculpture comes from a few select historical periods.
The first period of interest has been the Western Zhou Dynasty (1050-771 BC), from which come a variety of intricate cast bronze vessels.
The next period of interest was the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), beginning with the spectacular Terracotta Army assembled for the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the important but short-lived Qin Dynasty
that preceded the Han. Tombs excavated from the Han period have
revealed many figures found to be vigorous, direct, and appealing 2000
years later.
The first Buddhist sculpture is found dating from the Three Kingdoms period (3rd century), while the sculpture of the Longmen Grottoes near Luoyang, Henan Province (Northern Wei, 5th and 6th century) has been widely recognized for its special elegant qualities.
The period now considered to be China's golden age is the Tang Dynasty, coinciding with what in Europe is sometimes called the Dark Ages).
Decorative figures like those shown below became very popular in 20th
century Euro-American culture, and were made available in bulk, as warlords
in the Chinese civil wars exported them to raise cash. Considered
especially desirable, and even profound, was the Buddhist sculpture,
often monumental, begun in the Sui Dynasty, inspired by the Indian art
of the Gupta period, and many are considered treasures of world art.
Following
the Tang, Western interest in Chinese artifacts drops off dramatically,
except for what might be considered as ornamental furnishings, and
especially objects in jade.
Pottery
from many periods has been collected, and again the Tang period stands
out apart for its free, easy feeling. Chinese sculpture has no
nudes—other perhaps than figures made for medical training or
practice—and very little portraiture compared with the European
tradition. One place where sculptural portraiture was pursued, however,
was in the monasteries.
Almost nothing, other than jewelry, jade, or pottery is collected by art museums after the Ming Dynasty
ended in the late 17th century—and absolutely nothing has yet been
recognized as sculpture from the tumultuous 20th century, although
there was a school of Soviet-influenced social realist sculpture in the
early decades of the Communist regime, and as the century turned,
Chinese craftsmen began to dominate commercial sculpture genres (the
collector plates, figurines, toys, etc) and avant garde Chinese artists
began to participate in the Euro-American enterprise of contemporary
art.
JapanCountless
paints and sculpture were made, often under governmental sponsorship.
Most Japanese sculpture is associated with religion, and the medium'
use declined with the lessening importance of traditional Buddhism.
During the Kofun period of the third century, clay sculptures called haniwa were erected outside tombs. Inside the Kondo at Hōryū-ji is a Shaka Trinity (623), the historical Buddha flanked by two bodhisattvas and also the Guardian Kings of the Four Directions. The wooden image ( 9th c.) of Shakyamuni, the "historic" Buddha, enshrined in a secondary building at the Murō-ji, is typical of the early Heian
sculpture, with its ponderous body, covered by thick drapery folds
carved in the hompa-shiki (rolling-wave) style, and its austere,
withdrawn facial expression. The Kei school of sculptors, particularly
Unkei, created a new, more realistic style of sculpture.
Africa
African art has an emphasis on Sculpture - African artists tend to favor three-dimensional artworks over two-dimensional works.
African sculpturesThe
style, key aesthetic characteristics, materials, and techniques used in
the creation of a piece of sculpture reflects the region from which it
originates. Sculptures often have unique functions that vary widely
from one geographical region to the next.
In
West Africa, the earliest known sculptures are from the Nok culture of
Nigeria, which dates around 500 BC. The figures of West African
sculptures typically have elongated bodies, angular shapes, and facial
features that represent an ideal rather than an individual.
These
figures are used in religious rituals. They are made to have surfaces
that are often coated with materials placed on them for ceremonial
offerings. In contrast to these sculptures of West Africa are the ones
of Mande-speaking peoples of the same region. The Mande pieces are made
of wood and have broad, flat surfaces. Their arms and legs are shaped
like cylinders.
In
Central Africa, however, the main distinguishing characteristics
include heart-shaped faces that are curved inward and display patterns
of circles and dots. Although some groups prefer more geometric and
angular facial forms, not all pieces are exactly the same, nor are they
made of the same material. The primary material is wood, though ivory,
bone, stone, clay, and metal are also used. The Central African region
has very striking styles that are very easy to identify, making
regional identification very easy.
"Green Head", Egypt, 500BC Altes Museum Eastern
Africans are not known for their sculpture, but, one type that is
created in this area is pole sculptures, which are poles carved in
human shapes, decorated with geometric forms, while the tops are carved
with figures of animals, people, and various objects. These poles are,
then, placed next to graves and are associated with death and the
ancestral world.
Southern
Africa’s oldest known clay figures date from 400 to 600 A.D. and have
cylindrical heads. These clay figures have a mixture of human and
animal features. Other than clay figures, there are also wooden
headrests that were buried with their owners. The headrests had styles
ranging from geometric shapes to animal figures. Each region had a
unique style and meaning to their sculptures. The type of material and
purpose for creating sculpture in Africa reflect the region from which
the pieces are created.
EgyptThe monumental sculpture of Ancient Egypt is world-famous, but refined and delicate small works are also a feature.
The
ancient art of Egyptian sculpture evolved to represent the ancient
Egyptian gods, and Pharaohs, the divine kings and queens, in physical
form. Very strict conventions were followed while crafting statues:
male statues were darker than the female ones; in seated statues, hands
were required to be placed on knees and specific rules governed
appearance of every Egyptian god.
Artistic
works were ranked according to exact compliance with all the
conventions, and the conventions were followed so strictly that over
three thousand years, very little changed in the appearance of statues
except during a brief period during the rule of Akhenaten and Nefertiti when naturalistic portrayal was encouraged.
The Americas
The K'alyaan Totem Pole of the Tlingit Kiks.ádi Clan, erected at Sitka National Historical Park to commemorate the lives lost in the 1804 Battle of Sitka. Sculpture in what is now Latin America developed in two separate and distinct areas, Mesoamerica in the north and Peru in the south. In both areas, sculpture was initially of stone, and later of terracotta and metal as the civilizations in these areas became more technologically proficient.
The Mesoamerican region produced more monumental sculpture, from the massive block-like works of the Olmec and Toltec cultures, to the superb low reliefs that characterize the Mayan and Aztec cultures. In the Andean region, sculptures were typically small, but often show superb skill.
In North America, wood was sculpted for totem poles, masks, utensils, War canoes
and a variety of other uses, with distinct variation between different
cultures and regions. The most developed styles are those of the Pacific Northwest Coast,
where a group of elaborate and highly-stylized formal styles developed
forming the basis of a vibrant tradition that is in a renaissance today
(see Bill Reid) and has moved
into other mediums such as silver, gold and modern materials. The
introduction of metal tools introduced new carving techniques,
including the use of a black type of argillite, also called black slate, which is exclusive for use by
artists of the Haida people.
Miniature totem pole in black argillite, carver unknown, UBC Museum of Anthropology collection In addition to the famous totem poles, painted and carved house fronts were complemented by carved posts inside and out, as well as mortuary figures and other items. Among the Inuit
of the far north, traditional carving styles in ivory and soapstone
have been expanded through the use of modern power tools into new
directions for Inuit culture which, like the art of the Northwest
Coast, is highly prized by art collectors for its plastic forms and
innovative interpretation of figure and story.
The habitant-carved altar of Notre-Dame Basilica (Montreal) The arrival of European Catholic culture readily adapted local skills to the prevailing Baroque style, producing enormously elaborate retablos and other mostly church sculptures in a variety of hybrid styles.
The most famous of such examples in Canada is the altar area of the Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal, Quebec, which was carved by peasant habitant
labourers. Later, artists trained in the Western academic tradition
followed European styles until in the late nineteenth century they
began to draw again on indigenous influences, notably in the Mexican
baroque grotesque style known as Churrigueresque. Aboriginal peoples also adapted church sculpture in variations on Carpenter Gothic; one famous example is the Church of the Holy Cross in Skookumchuck Hot Springs, British Columbia.
Frederic Remington, The Bronco Buster, limited edition #17 of 20, 1909. The history of sculpture in the United States after Europeans' arrival reflects the country's 18th-century foundation in Roman republican civic values and Protestant Christianity.
Compared
to areas colonized by the Spanish, sculpture got off to an extremely
slow start in the British colonies, with next to no place in churches,
and was only given impetus by the need to assert nationality after
independence.
American
sculpture of the mid- to late-19th century was often classical, often
romantic, but showed a bent for a dramatic, narrative, almost
journalistic realism. Public buildings during the last quarter of the
19th century and the first half of the 20th century often provided an
architectural setting for sculpture, especially in relief. By the
1950s, traditional sculpture education would almost be completely
replaced by a Bauhaus-influenced concern for abstract design. Minimalist
sculpture replaced the figure in public settings and architects almost
completely stopped using sculpture in or on their designs. Modern
sculptors (21st century) use both classical and abstract inspired
designs. Beginning in the 1980s, there was a swing back toward
figurative public sculpture; by 2000, many of the new public pieces in
the United States were figurative in design.
EuropeThe earliest European sculpture to date portrays a female form,
and has been estimated at dating from 35,000 years ago. The discovery
in 2008 has caused experts to revise the history of the development of
art.
Greek-Roman-classical
Features unique to the European Classical tradition:
Features that the European Classical tradition shares with many others:
The topic of Nudity
An
unadorned figure in Greek classical sculpture was a reference to the
status or role of the depicted person, deity or other being. Athletes,
priestesses and gods could be identified by their adornment or lack of
it.
The Renaissance preoccupation with Greek classical imagery, such as the 5th century B.C. Doryphoros of Polykleitos,
led to nude figurative statues being seen as the 'perfect form' of
representation for the human body. Subsequently, nudity in sculpture
and painting has often represented a form of ideal, be it innocence, openness or purity.
Nude sculptures are still common. As in painting, they are often made as exercises in efforts to understand the anatomical structure of the human body and develop skills that will provide a foundation for making clothed figurative work.
Nude
statues are usually widely accepted by many societies, largely due to
the length of tradition that supports this form. Occasionally, the nude
form draws objections, often by moral or religious groups. Classic
examples of this are the removal of the parts of Greek sculpture
corresponding to male genitals (in the Vatican collection), and the addition of a fig leaf to a plaster cast of Michelangelo's sculpture of David for Queen Victoria's visit to the British Museum.
Ancient Greek sculpture. A portion of the Parthenon Pediment, displayed in the British Museum. GothicGothic
sculpture evolved from the early stiff and elongated style, still
partly Romanesque, into a spatial and naturalistic feel in the late
12th and early 13th century. The architectural statues at the Western
(Royal) Portal at Chartres Cathedral (c. 1145) are the earliest Gothic sculptures and were a revolution in style and the model for a generation of sculptors.
Prior to this there had been no sculpture tradition in Ile-de-France—so sculptors were brought in from Burgundy. Bamberg Cathedral
had the largest assemblage of 13th century sculpture. In England
sculpture was more confined to tombs and non-figurine decorations. In
Italy there was still a Classical influence, but Gothic made inroads in
the sculptures of pulpits such as the Pisa Baptistery pulpit (1260) and
the Siena pulpit (1268). Dutch-Burgundian sculptor Claus Sluter
and the taste for naturalism signaled the beginning of the end of
Gothic sculpture, evolving into the classicistic Renaissance style by
the end of the 15th century.
Renaissance
Although
the Renaissance began at different times in various parts of Europe
(some areas created art longer in the Gothic style than other areas)
the transition from Gothic to Renaissance in Italy was signalled by a
trend toward naturalism with a nod to classical sculpture.
One of the most important sculptors in the classical revival was Donatello. The greatest achievement of what art historians refer to as his classic period is the bronze statue entitled David (not to be confused with Michelangelo's David), which is currently located at the Bargello in Florence.
At the
time of its creation, it was the first free-standing nude statue since
ancient times. Conceived fully in the round and independent of any
architectural surroundings, it is generally considered to be the first
major work of Renaissance sculpture. The movement affected all aspects
of art, in all parts of Italy; as represented by the conscious revival
from archaeological sources of the Antique dining table, by the great
sculptor Tullio Lombardo, for the Castello di Roncade in the Veneto (the house with the first free-standing pediment since antiquity.)
During the main Renaissance, the time from about 1500 to 1520, Michelangelo was an active sculptor with works such as David and the Pietà, as well as the Doni Virgin, Bacchus, Moses, Rachel, Orgetorix, and members of the Medici family. Michelangelo's David is possibly the most famous sculpture in the world, which was unveiled on September 8, 1504. It is an example of the contrapposto style of posing the human figure, which again borrows from classical sculpture. Michelangelo's statue of David differs from previous representations of the subject in that David is depicted before his battle with Goliath and not after the giant's defeat. Instead of being shown victorious over a foe much larger than he, David looks tense and battle ready. Mannerist
During
the Mannerist period, more abstract representations were praised, (such
as the "figura serpentinata" or "twisted figure") giving more thought
to color and composition rather than realistic portrayal of the
subjects in the piece.
This is exemplified in Giambologna's
Abduction/Rape of the Sabine Women, where the figures are not
positioned in a way which is at all comfortable, or even humanly
possible, but the position and emotion still come across. Another
exemple of the form is Benvenuto Cellini's 1540 salt cellar of gold and ebony, featuring Neptune and Amphitrite (earth and water) in elongated form and uncomfortable positions (implausible poses).
Baroque
In
Baroque sculpture, groups of figures assumed new importance, and there
was a dynamic movement and energy of human forms— they spiralled around
an empty central vortex, or reached outwards into the surrounding
space. For the first time, Baroque sculpture often had multiple ideal
viewing angles.
The
characteristic Baroque sculpture added extra-sculptural elements, for
example, concealed lighting, or water fountains. Often, Baroque artists
fused sculpture and architecture seeking to create a transformative
experience for the viewer. Gian Lorenzo Bernini
was undoubtedly the most important sculptor of the Baroque period. His
works were inspired by Hellenistic sculpture of Ancient Greece and
Imperial Rome. One of his most famous works is The Ecstasy of St Theresa (1647-1652).
Neo-Classical
The
Neoclassical period (c.1750-1850) was one of the great ages of public
sculpture, though its "classical" prototypes were more likely to be
Roman copies of Hellenistic sculptures. In sculpture, the most familiar
representatives are the Italian Antonio Canova, the Englishman John Flaxman and the Dane Bertel Thorvaldsen.
The European neoclassical manner also took hold in the United States,
where its pinnacle occurred somewhat later and is exemplified in the
sculptures of Hiram Powers.
Modern ClassicismModern
Classicism contrasted in many ways with the classical sculpture of the
19th century which was characterized by commitments to naturalism (Antoine-Louis Barye) -- the melodramatic (François Rude) sentimentality (Jean Baptiste Carpeaux)-- or a kind of stately grandiosity (Lord Leighton)
Several different directions in the classical tradition were taken as
the century turned, but the study of the live model and the
post-Renaissance tradition was still fundamental to them.
Auguste Rodin was the most renowned European sculptor of the early 20th century. He is often considered a sculptural Impressionist, as are Medardo Rosso, Count Troubetski, Rik Wouters, and Hugo Rheinhold, attempting to model of a fleeting moment of ordinary life.
Fragment of the grave of Cyprian Kamil Norwid in the Bards' crypt in Wawel Cathedral, Kraków by sculptor Czesław Dźwigaj Modern
Classicism showed a lesser interest in naturalism and a greater
interest in formal stylization. Greater attention was paid to the
rhythms of volumes and spaces - as well as greater attention to the
contrasting qualities of surface (open, closed, planar, broken etc)
while less attention was paid to story-telling and convincing details
of anatomy or costume.
Greater
attention was given to psychological effect than to physical realism.
Greater attention was given to showing what was eternal and public,
rather than what was momentary and private. Greater attention was given
to examples of ancient and Medieval sacred arts:Egyptian, Middle
Eastern, Asian, African, and Meso-American. Grandiosity was still a
concern, but in a broader, more worldwide context.
Early masters of modern classicism included: Aristide Maillol, Alexander Matveev, Joseph Bernard, Antoine Bourdelle, Georg Kolbe, Libero Andreotti, Gustav Vigeland, Jan Stursa, Constantin Brancusi.
As the
century progressed, modern classicism was adopted as the national style
of the two great European totalitarian empires: Nazi Germany and Soviet
Russia, who co-opted the work of early masters, like Kolbe and Arno Breker in Germany, and Matveev in Russia.
Nazi
Germany had a 15-year run; but over the 70 years of the USSR, new
generations of sculptors were trained and chosen within their system,
and a distinct style, socialist realism, developed, that returned to the 19th century's emphasis on melodrama and naturalism.
Classical
training was rooted out of art education in Western Europe (and the
Americas) by 1970 and the classical variants of the 20th century were
marginalized in the history of modernism. But classicism continued as
the foundation of art education in the Soviet academies until 1990,
providing a foundation for expressive figurative art throughout eastern
Europe and parts of the Middle East.
By the
year 2000, the European classical tradition maintains a wide appeal to
viewers - especially tourists - and especially for the ancient,
Renaissance, Baroque, and 19th century periods—but awaits an
educational tradition to revive its contemporary development.
In the rest of Europe, and the United States the modern classical became either more decorative/art deco (Paul Manship, Jose de Creeft, Carl Milles) or more abstractly stylized or more expressive (and Gothic) (Anton Hanak, Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Ernst Barlach, Arturo Martini) -- or turned more to the Renaissance (Giacomo Manzù, Venanzo Crocetti) or stayed the same (Charles Despiau, Marcel
Gimond).
Modernism
In the early days of the 20th century Pablo Picasso revolutionized the art of sculpture when he began creating his constructions
fashioned by combining disparate objects and materials into one
constructed piece of sculpture, - by addition. Picasso reinvented the
art of sculpture with his innovative use of constructing a work in
three dimensions with disparate material.
Just as collage was a radical development in two dimensional art; so was construction a radical development in three dimensional sculpture. The advent of Surrealism
lead to things occasionally being described as "sculpture" that would
not have been so previously, such as "involuntary sculpture" in several
senses, including coulage.
In later years Pablo Picasso became a prolific ceramicist, revolutionizing the way Ceramic art is perceived. George E. Ohr and more contemporary sculptors like Peter Voulkos, Kenneth Price and others have effectively used ceramics as an important integral medium for their work.
Similarly, the work of Constantin Brâncuşi
at the beginning of the century paved the way for later abstract
sculpture. In revolt against the naturalism of Rodin and his late 19th
century contemporaries, Brancusi distilled subjects down to their
essences as illustrated by his Bird in Space
(1924) series. These elegantly refined forms became synonymous with
20th century sculpture. In 1927, Brancusi won a lawsuit against the
U.S. customs authorities who attempted to value his sculpture as raw
metal. The suit led to legal changes permitting the importation of
abstract art free of duty.
Brancusi's
impact, with his vocabulary of reduction and abstraction, is seen
throughout the 1930's and 1940's, and exemplified by artists such as Gaston Lachaise, Sir Jacob Epstein, Henry Moore, Alberto Giacometti, Joan Miró, Julio González, Jacques Lipchitz and later in the century by Carl Andre and John Safer who added motion and monumentality to the theme of purity of line.
Eventually artists like Isamu Noguchi, David Smith, Alexander Calder, Jean Tinguely, Richard Lippold, George Rickey Louise Bourgeois and Louise Nevelson came to characterize the look of modern sculpture. By the 1960s Abstract expressionism, Geometric abstraction and Minimalism as exemplified by the Cubi's of David Smith, and the welded steel
work of Sir Anthony Caro, the large scale work of John Chamberlain, and Mark di Suvero, and the Minimalist works by Tony Smith, Robert Morris, Donald Judd, Larry Bell, Anne Truitt, Richard Serra, Dan Flavin and others led contemporary abstract sculpture in new directions.
Since the 1950s Modernist
trends in sculpture both abstract and figurative have dominated the
public imagination and the popularity of Modernist sculpture has all
but eliminated the traditional approach.
During the 1960s and 1970s figurative sculpture by modernist artists as stylized as Leonard Baskin, Ernest Trova, Marisol Escobar, Paul Thek and Manuel Neri became popular, and by the 1980s the painter Fernando Botero emerged with monumental figures reminiscent of the fat characters in his paintings.
Picasso was commissioned to make a maquette for a huge 50-foot (15 m)-high public sculpture to be built in Chicago, known usually as the Chicago Picasso.
He approached the project with a great deal of enthusiasm, designing a
sculpture which was ambiguous and somewhat controversial. What the
figure represents is not known; it could be a bird, a horse, a woman or
a totally abstract shape. The sculpture, one of the most recognizable
landmarks in downtown Chicago, was unveiled in 1967. Picasso refused to
be paid $100,000 for it, donating it to the people of the city.
During
the late 1950s and the 1960s abstract sculptors began experimenting
with a wide array of new materials and different approaches to creating
their work. Surrealist imagery, anthropomorphic abstraction, new
materials and combinations of new energy sources and varied surfaces
and objects became characteristic of much new modernist sculpture.
Modernist sculpture movements include Geometric abstraction, De Stijl, Suprematism, Constructivism, Dadaism, Cubism, Surrealism, Futurism, Minimalism, Formalism Abstract expressionism, Pop-Art, and Installation art among others.
Gallery of Modernist sculpture
PostminimalismBill Bollinger, Eva Hesse, Sol LeWitt, Jackie Winsor, Keith Sonnier, Bruce Nauman, Lucas Samaras, and Robert Smithson among others were pioneers of Postminimalist sculpture.
Also during the 1960s and 1970s artists as diverse as Stephen Antonakis, Chryssa, Walter De Maria, Dan Flavin, Robert Smithson, Robert Irwin, Claes Oldenburg, George Segal, Edward Kienholz, Duane Hanson, and John DeAndrea explored abstraction, imagery and figuration through Light sculpture, and installation art in new ways.
ReadymadeThe
term found art — more commonly found object (French: objet trouvé) or
readymade — describes art created from the undisguised, but often
modified, use of objects that are not normally considered art, often
because they already have a mundane, utilitarian function. Marcel
Duchamp was the originator of this in the early 20th-century with
pieces such as Fountain.
Conceptual ArtConceptual
art is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take
precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Works
include One and Three Chairs, 1965, is by Joseph Kosuth, and An Oak Tree by Michael Craig-Martin.
Post-modernismPost-modern
sculpture occupies a broader field of activities than Modernist
sculpture, as Rosalind Krauss has observed. Her idea of sculpture in the expanded field identified a series of oppositions that describe the various sculpture-like activities that are post-modern sculpture:
Krauss' concern was creating a theoretical explanation that could adequately fit the developments of Land art, Minimalist sculpture, and Site-specific art into the category of sculpture. To do this, her explanation created a series of oppositions around the work's relationship to its environment.
Contemporary genres
Some modern sculpture forms are now practiced outdoors, and often in full view of spectators, thus giving them kinship to performance art in the eyes of some.
Ice sculpture
is a form of sculpture that uses ice as the raw material. It's popular
in China, Japan, Canada, Sweden, and Russia. Ice sculptures feature
decoratively in some cuisines, especially in Asia. Kinetic sculptures are sculptures that are designed to move, which include Mobiles. Snow sculptures are usually carved out of a single block of snow about 6 to 15 feet (4.6 m) on each side and weighing about 20 - 30 tons.
The
snow is densely packed into a form after having been produced by
artificial means or collected from the ground after a snowfall. Sound sculptures
take the form of indoor sound installations, outdoor installations such
as aeolian harps, automatons, or be more or less near conventional
musical instruments. Sound sculpture is often site-specific.
A Sand castle can be regarded as a sand sculpture. Weightless Sculpture (in outer space) as a concept is created in 1985 by the Dutch artist Martin Sjardijn. Lego
brick sculpting involves the use of common Lego bricks to build
realistic or artistic sculptures sometimes using hundreds of thousands
of bricks. Art toys have become an important format for contemporary artists since the late 1990s, such as those produced by Kid Robot, designed by Michael Lau, or hand-made by Michael Leavitt
(artist).
Social status
Worldwide, sculptors have usually been tradesmen whose work is unsigned. But in the Classical world, many Ancient Greek sculptors like Phidias began to receive individual recognition in Periclean Athens, and became famous and presumably wealthy. In the Middle Ages, artists like the 12th century Gislebertus sometimes signed their work, and were sought after by different cities, especially from the Trecento onwards in Italy, with figures like Arnolfo di Cambio, Nicola Pisano and his son Giovanni.
Many sculptors also practised in other arts, sometimes painting, like Andrea del Verrocchio, or architecture, like Giovanni Pisano, Michelangelo, or Jacopo Sansovino, and maintained large workshops.
From the High Renaissance artists like Michelangelo, Leone Leoni and Giambologna
could become wealthy, and ennobled, and enter the circle of princes.
Much decorative sculpture on buildings remained a trade, but sculptors
producing individual pieces were recognised on a level with painters.
From at least the 18th century, sculpture also attracted middle-class
students, although it was slower to do so than painting. Equally women
sculptors took longer to appear than women painters, and have generally
been less prominent until the 20th century at least.
TechniquesStone carvingStone carving is an ancient activity where pieces of rough natural stone are shaped by the controlled removal of stone. Owing to the permanence of the material, evidence can be found that even the earliest societies indulged in some form of stone work.
Petroglyphs (also called rock engravings) are perhaps the earliest form: images created by removing part of a rock surface which remains in situ, by incising, pecking, carving, and abrading. Monumental sculpture covers large works, and architectural sculpture, which is attached to buildings.
Hardstone carving is the carving for artistic purposes of semi-precious stones such as jade, agate, onyx, rock crystal, sard or carnelian, and a general term for an object made in this way. Engraved gems are small carved gems, including cameos, originally used as seal rings.
Bronze sculptureBronze is the most popular metal for cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture
is often called simply a "bronze". Common bronze alloys have the
unusual and desirable property of expanding slightly just before they
set, thus filling the finest details of a mold. Their strength and lack
of brittleness (ductility) is an advantage when figures in action are
to be created, especially when compared to various ceramic or stone materials (see marble sculpture for several examples).
Wood carving
Wood carving
is a form of working wood by means of a cutting tool held in the hand
(this may be a power tool), resulting in a wooden figure or figurine
(this may be abstract in nature) or in the sculptural ornamentation of
a wooden object.
CastingCasting
is a manufacturing process by which a liquid material is (usually)
poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired
shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solid casting is then ejected
or broken out to complete the process. Casting may be used to form hot liquid metals or various materials that cold set after mixing of components (such as epoxies, concrete, plaster and clay).
Casting is most often used for making complex shapes that would be
otherwise difficult or uneconomical to make by other methods.
Casting is a 6,000-year-old process. The oldest surviving casting is a copper frog from 3200 BC. The casting process is subdivided into two distinct subgroups: expendable and non-expendable mold casting.
Conservation
Sculptures are sensitive to environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity and exposure to light and ultraviolet light. Acid rain can also cause damage to certain building materials and historical monuments. This results when the sulfuric acid in the rain chemically reacts with the calcium compounds in the stones (limestone, sandstone, marble and granite) to create gypsum, which then flakes off.
Similar arts Other arts which are related to sculpture:
See also
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