What is a sculpture? This is a kind of fine art, sculpting images of a three-dimensional shape, creating images using specific materials (solid or plastic, depending on the purpose). Clay, wood, wax, bone, metal can be used. There are varieties of public sculptures located in parks, squares, and squares. There are creations more significant in terms of artistic value. These are museum level masterpieces created by great masters such as Michelangelo, Raphael or Benvenuto Cellini.
Sculpture, its types and features
As it happens in any other art, voluminous artistic images carry signs of exclusivity. The sculpture can be copied, but complete coincidence with the original can not be expected. Exact copies are possible only when using the casting method, when the alloy is poured into the same mold.
What is sculpture from the point of view of the artist? First of all, it is an opportunity to express oneself, to embody one’s vision of a particular image in an image. Existing types of sculpture allow you to fully reflect any plot, it all depends on the skill of the sculptor. At the same time, the correct choice of material is of no small importance. Often in the practice of creating sculptural images, the discrepancy between the conceived creation and the quality of the raw material becomes obvious. Clay is replaced with marble or vice versa, hard stone gives way to clay mass with subsequent firing of the finished product.
The sculptor chooses the material most carefully when making miniatures.
David and Galatea
And finally, what is sculpture in the understanding of ordinary people who are drawn to art and are eager to get acquainted with its deep content? Of course, these are masterpieces of world significance - the marble sculpture of David, which was sculpted by Michelangelo Buonarroti, or Galatea Pygmalion, who idolized the creation of his hands. He fell in love with a beautiful statue in the way a man can love a woman. Is this not true art?
To the question that such a sculpture, there are many answers, but the most correct of them lies on the surface - the sculptural image should reflect reality. Surrealism is also not alien to this type of art, but its specificity does not allow to fully realize the idea, the viewer has to speculate.
Statue of Nefertiti
Sculpture as a form of fine art has ancient roots. At one time, images of the Egyptian Queen Nefertiti were found , dated to the 14th century BC. The artistic merits of the statue did not always correspond to the classical canons, but the fact that in ancient times there were masters who sculpted voluminous images says a lot.
The types and genres of sculpture even then could be quite diverse. Available materials from ancient times are clay, marble and sandstone. Due to the variety of materials available, sculpture as a form of fine art has existed for more than fifteen centuries. More than one generation of masters has changed, and today artistic sculptures remind us of the past.
Varieties of images
Consider the main types of sculpture. The list includes the following types:
- Round, or volumetric, is the most common form. It is considered from all sides, circular access is required. There is no background in the plane. The category of round sculpture includes statues, figurines and busts. Wooden sculpture occupies a separate position, which is often a genuine work of art. As an example, Permian artistic sculpture made of wood.
- The sculpture is monumental. It differs primarily in size. It can reach several tens of meters in height. For example, the American Statue of Liberty, installed in the Hudson Strait (forty-six meters high), the Argentine statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro (38 meters), the Mother Motherland in Volgograd (85 meters), the Mother Motherland monument in Kiev (sixty-two meters). In most cases, such statues are heroic. Smaller statues have a different purpose, most often decorative.
Sculptures on pedestals are monuments dedicated to great people or events.
- Tondo - a round sculpture in the form of a bas-relief. In this manner, Michelangelo Buonarroti worked. Two of his most famous works are Madonna Doni and Tondo Tadei. Rafael also used this technique - he created Madonna Alba and Madonna in the Chair.
- Effigia - a sculptural tombstone. It was used in the burials of noble nobles. Most often, the image repeated the appearance of the deceased. Effigia was also used to symbolically execute the convicted criminal, if he managed to escape. In this case, his sculptural image was executed.
Popular views
- Snow sculptures. The most common is a snowman or snow woman. There are examples of building giant snowmen. So, in 1992 in the United States a woman was molded 37 meters high, which was included in the Guinness Book of Records. Every year, contests for the best snowman and sculptural groups of snow and ice are held in different parts of the world.
- Small plastic - sculptural images with a height of not more than 15 centimeters. It includes a number of thematic areas: Chukchi carved bone, Bogorodskaya carving, tin miniature, glyptic (stone carving), miniature images of animals. The most laborious method is artwork in the manner of glyptics. Bone carving is also appreciated. The material for this fishing is walrus fang - quite plastic, well amenable to polishing. Basically, sculptures of small forms are intended for the arrangement of interiors and embody decorative and applied art.
Rare species
- Netsuke - miniature sculptural images, highly artistic art of bone carving, national Japanese craft. The material used is fangs of marine animals or ivory (that is, tusks of ordinary land elephants). Netsuke-style thumbnail plots can be very varied. These are all kinds of figures on biblical themes, statuettes of gods, animals and fish. The art of Japanese bone carving is famous all over the world. Ancient netsuke, which is more than a hundred years old, is highly valued. Such products are considered rarities and are quite expensive. Old-school carvers are moving into another world, and the art of netsuke is gradually degenerating. Schools that teach bone carving techniques are not able to pass on to the new generation all the intricacies of the craft.
- Medal art - sculptural images on a plane, which are made according to the principle of bas-relief. In some cases, when the image should be more convex, as in the manufacture of orders, the properties of the high relief are applied.
- Mascaron - grotesque sculptural image of the head of an animal or human face. Often used to illustrate mythical plots, personifies evil and danger. Many sculptures made in the style of mascaron are used to decorate temples, large sacred buildings or grandiose architectural structures.
Easel sculpture
Assumes close range perception. The conditional connection with the inner world of a person is emphasized, while the narrative plot is viewed, as well as the absolute absence of a relationship with the subject environment, and especially with the interior specifics.
Not all types of sculpture are listed, but we tried to introduce the reader to the main directions of this truly amazing work.
Wholeness of creation
The expressiveness of the sculpture depends on how the basic plans, volumes, light planes and rhythmic relationships are built. There are a lot of construction criteria, and the final result is achieved precisely due to their observance. Sculptural art is a science with many unknowns, but the main condition for success is the integrity of the silhouette and clear contours of the image. In this case, the master must in the process of his work introduce more and more elements of artistry. This is the only way to achieve high results.
Sculpture technologies are associated with tremendous physical labor; they are also associated with many technical processes: embossing, forging, casting, welding, carving, all kinds of notches. It is not possible for one sculptor to manufacture a product from beginning to end, so master assistants are involved in the work, who chop the stone, mold the castings and mint the initial phases of the image.
Strong connection of times
At all times, there were talented masters of their craft. Some sculptors sculpted from a single piece of marble, others preferred a more pliable material, but in either case, unique masterpieces came out from under the cutter.
Historical and modern sculpture are sufficiently identical, they are united by a thematic community - the desire of masters to depict the reality in which they live and engage in creativity. The materials used for this can also contribute to the convergence of eras.
The history and types of sculpture are closely intertwined. So, in antiquity, there were directions of volume sculpting, which are still valid today. Thus, the fine arts of the past centuries are organically connected with the cultural values of our time. Almost all European types of sculpture dominated cultural institutions thanks to masters who lived in the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, including Auguste Rodin, Giovanni Bernini, Betto Bardi Donatello, Jean-Antoine Goodon, Michelangelo Buonarotti, Fedot Shubin. The unsurpassed talent of these masters made it possible to collect a significant number of masterpieces of sculptural art in museums around the world.
Modernity
The twentieth century has also presented to humanity a whole galaxy of talented artists of art sculpture, such as Vera Mukhina, Sergey Konenkov, Aristide Mayol, Henry Moore, Emil Antoine Bourdelle. On the account of these geniuses in their field are many memorial ensembles, group and single sculptures, and park complexes in the open air. All types of sculpture, oriented to installation in public places, had to be kept in a certain ideological style, and the authors did an excellent job of this.
How to guess the type of sculpture
And at the end of this article we want to share some observations. In many crosswords, chinwords or scanwords, it is suggested to guess the following word: "type of sculpture, 8 letters." This indicates the popularity of sculptural art. As for the answer to the asked question, from eight letters a lot of words can be found related to the specified topic. This is a “bas-relief”, and “high relief”, and “monument”.