How often, walking through various parks, we see incredibly beautiful works of art! Landscaping sculpture has spread since time immemorial. Now it can be observed in many places, both very famous and almost unknown to the general public. Of course, such art always carried certain goals, which at different times underwent strong changes. Also, due to its long history, this type of sculpture has many stages of development. All of these issues will be similarly addressed in the article.
Garden sculpture: general information
First you need to define this direction of art, as well as talk about some of its characteristic features. So, such a sculpture is one of the varieties of plastic. It is created to decorate various garden and park areas. Such objects can be of any size. Interestingly, for what other purposes are similar objects of art created? In addition to the main, decorative component, landscape gardening sculpture can carry out propaganda or educational functions. Some objects are created in order to perpetuate the memory of famous people or important events.
This type of art has long been recognized as traditional. Most of all, it manifests itself in Western European culture, where you can meet many excellent examples. We will talk about them a little later. Now we turn to the history of this direction.
The origin of garden sculpture
First, it’s worth talking about when and where this art form first began to appear. So, according to many experts, a decorative sculpture (landscape gardening) originated in ancient Greece. Then the very first known gardens appeared (in Athens and other places). It was at this time that a tradition appeared to decorate them with various sculptural objects. One of the famous places of that time was the gardens of the Academy, where philosophers gathered.
When the period of Hellenism came to replace this period, landscape gardening sculpture received several other tasks. From that moment on, she wore more decorative and entertaining functions. Well-known examples of that time are Old Fisherman, Satire Rest, and many others.
In ancient Rome, such a sculpture was further developed. At that time, active conquests were constantly conducted. Therefore, many Roman gardens were decorated with statues taken from other countries from different materials - bronze, marble, gypsum and some others. Also in Ancient Rome there was such a direction as copying art objects of Ancient Greece.
Further stages of development
So, we learned about how the garden-park sculpture was born. Now it is worth continuing our excursion into history. Interestingly, in the Renaissance in some countries, such as Italy, sculpture developed much more actively than other areas of art. The figures were installed in many places: in huge squares and in small gardens. They were also used to decorate objects such as fountains.
It was from Italy that this direction of art was borrowed by other countries. Gradually, such traditions of decorating gardens and parks were adopted by France, England and the Czech Republic.
Gardens
Many garden and park ensembles are recognized as real pearls, are valuable monuments of cultural heritage and are under special protection and guard.
Baroque gardens deserve special attention. Their distinctive feature is precisely the presence of a large number of park sculptures. Also, vases were used to decorate green areas. Great examples of that time are the Summer Garden, Versailles and many others.
After a while, landscape gardens of classicism appeared. To decorate such parks, significantly fewer sculptural objects were used. At this time, the figures of the gods of Ancient Greece and Rome began to be created again, many characters were also borrowed from these cultures. A great example of the gardens of classicism is the Alabino estate, located in the Moscow region.
In the 19th century, the arrangement of garden and park ensembles noticeably changed. At the beginning of the century, classicism reigned mainly, however, it was gradually replaced by academicism, and somewhat later other directions. For example, at that time a monument appeared in the Summer Garden that was completely unlike the others. It was dedicated to Krylov, the author of famous fables. Interestingly, the sculpture did not at all resemble the examples of baroque and classicism created before.
Famous examples of garden sculptures
There are many examples of this art movement. One of them, which was already mentioned above, is the Summer Garden. It is located in St. Petersburg. Well-known statues are installed here, such as “Mercy”, “Justice”, “Woman in a Diadem” and many others.
Another famous ensemble is the Tuileries in Paris, which also has many famous cultural monuments.
Interestingly, at one time gypsum sculptures were popular . One of them in the Soviet period adorned Gorky Park in Moscow. It was called "Girl with an oar."
Its original version was created in 1934. She suffered during the war, after which it was restored. “Girl with an oar” is a rather famous object. Now she is also in Gorky Park.