Bas-reliefs and high reliefs are a type of sculpture. They are used when there are so many actors in the sculptural composition that it would be too large if it were made three-dimensional. Most often they are part of an architectural structure. Reliefs are found on the walls of palaces and temples - both ancient Greek and other ancient peoples, and Christian.
Landforms
The main relief forms are bas-relief and high relief. In addition to them, two more types of reliefs are distinguished: a counter-relief and a coilanaglyph. These terms are less well known, since the works of art that they describe in these years are rare and often come from ancient civilizations or are of an applied nature. As a rule, people who come across these terms are concerned with one question: the differences between bas-relief and high relief. This is not surprising - they are quite similar in their structure and in the very idea of a convex image on the surface. Well then, it’s worth revealing this secret.
Bas-relief
So, what is the difference between bas-relief and high relief? You can answer briefly: in depth. The bas-relief is a shallow relief. The term comes from the French bas-relief, which is supposedly tracing paper from the Italian bassorilievo - low relief. The figures are as if pressed into the surface and protrude from it only half or even less. Bas-reliefs are most popular. They appeared back in the Stone Age and are found in the architecture of all ancient cultures. In ancient Greece and Rome, they were often present at the pediments of temples. Bas-reliefs are used now. Moreover, they adorn not only architectural structures, but also the surface of coins, medals, monuments.
High relief
High relief is a high relief. The term comes from the French hautrelief, which literally means "high relief". On it, figures can rise both 1/2 of the depth, and can fully protrude and be voluminous. They are found in ancient art, on the triumphal arches. In the Renaissance, began to be used as a means of transmitting perspectives.
Later, after the transition to Mannerism, and then the Baroque, they acquired bold and bizarre outlines, which dictated by the unlimited imagination of the sculptors. In the works of Bernini, for example, you can see the transitional form between the high relief that has completely risen from the surface and the sculptural group. An example is Ecstasy of St. Theresa, whose composition conveys an excited, enthusiastic mood.
How to distinguish
The differences between the high relief and the bas-relief, as is already clear from their description, are visible on the surface. And yet, is it easy to distinguish them to a person who does not engage in art professionally? There is one more criterion that can be seen and felt. This is unity with the surface. The bas-relief is often characterized by slightly altered proportions - its image is often flattened, which can be seen both on the facades of buildings, and on coins or utensils. It makes complete unity with the surface on which it is depicted. Even the most vivid imagination can hardly separate the figures poured into the background. High relief often tends to separate. The image is more voluminous and its proportions are saved. It gravitates to sculptural composition. If you dream up, you can imagine it separately from the background. This is one of the most characteristic differences between bas-relief and high relief. If some details come out and are not attached to the background - the hero’s head, the horse’s hoof, this can’t be a bas-relief. So now you can see with confidence the differences between high relief and bas-relief!
Counter-relief and coilanaglyph
The counter-relief, as the name implies, is something opposite to the relief, namely, a depressed relief, where the recesses would correspond to the protrusions. Most often it is used in matrices and seals. The impression, as, for example, the image on the coins, is a bas-relief. In the avant-garde art of the 20th century, the concept of counter-relief was rethought and endowed with a new meaning. The artist and designer Tatlin called counter-reliefs voluminous compositions of objects attached to a wall or two walls. These works of art no longer had a surface, and the objects had nothing to do with the wall and were pieces of wood, paper, metal or stretched strings connected in a bizarre composition. Some researchers suggest that this trend comes from Pablo Picasso.
Coilanaglyph is difficult to attribute to reliefs at all. It is an image using in-depth contours scratched in stone lines. You can meet the coilanaglyphs in the art of Ancient Egypt.
Now you know exactly what the difference between bas-relief and high relief, as well as what is a counter-relief and a coilanaglyph. To a person with this knowledge, it is much more interesting to consider architectural and sculptural structures!