We explain what sculpture is, its history and how this art is classified. Also, what are its characteristics, materials and importance.
What is sculpture?
The sculpture is one of the so-called Fine Artsan ancient practice in human history, which consists of modeling, carving or constructing three-dimensional figures or reliefs from various resistant materials, such as wood, clay or various types of stone. The work resulting from this process is also called sculpture, and the person who practices it is called a sculptor.
The creation of a sculpture can involve a diverse number of techniquesranging from chiseling to casting and moulding. This art also contains a repertoire of trends, possible materials and contrasting aesthetics. That is why there are realistic or hyper-realistic sculptures of human figures, but also abstract works.
The sculptures They occupy an important place in urban design and architecture, as well as in interior and exterior decoration. The emblematic figures of a society or culture, real or imaginary, tend to last over time represented in this way.
See also: Baroque style
Origin of the sculpture
The sculpture is located very present in the imagination of humanity.
Numerous classical or ancestral stories speak of the possibility of creating human figures from inert materials and then giving them life.
Some They talk about human magic, like the Hebrew Golem.
Others explain human creation as a work of sculpture by God or the gods.
The sculpture was one of the forms of representation cultivated by the most primitive human beingits first appearances date back to the Paleolithic.
32,000 to 27,000 years ago, for example, Certain female figures were carved in stone known today as “Paleolithic Venuses”: the Venus of Willendorf and the Venus of Lespugue. It is estimated that they are ancient icons of fertility, carved in limestone using instruments also made of stone.
History of sculpture
Sculpture and bas-relief They were forms of art in practically all ancient people. This is how they represented their deities or protective entities, placing them in temples, palace entrances or other strategic sites for civil, religious or military life. Some statues were even used to deter potential invaders.
The first treatises on sculptural techniques appear during Greek antiquity, around the 5th century BC. C. Many of the works of this period, which They represented mythological characterswere fundamental in the development of sculpture in later periods, such as the Roman Empire and the Renaissance.
However, in the Middle Ages The prevailing Christianity rejected any pagan motivepreferring religious sculptures instead. That is why the sculpture created altarpieces and decorative pieces for cathedrals and churches, with a predominance of Jesus of Nazareth and biblical motifs.
Already in modern times, sculpture went through many changes until the abandonment of figurativism was allowed, thus giving rise to abstraction, a process that painting experienced similarly. Sculpture then ventured into geometric shapes, free and subjective motifs.
Types of sculpture
In principle, One must distinguish between two basic forms of sculpturewhich are sculpture as such (it represents human, animal, abstract figures, etc.), and secondly, ornamental sculpture, which serves as an auxiliary element to both the first and the architecture.
On the other hand, sculptures are classified according to their shape into:
- Statues. They represent an isolated three-dimensional entity, generally human, and therefore receive their name according to the pose in which it is found: seated (sitting), recumbent (lying down), praying (kneeling), etc.
- Reliefs. Sculptures carved from a background, or attached to it in some way. It is also classified as bas-relief, when the image is cut out of the background that serves as support, and high-relief when the figures stand out from the accompanying background.
- Busts. Sculptures of the head or upper torso of a human figure. It is the sculptural equivalent of the portrait.
- Torsos. Human figures represented without heads or arms, only the trunk.
- Kinetics. A type of abstract sculpture that employs physical sources of motion.
- Penetratable. A type of abstract sculpture that allows the viewer to enter into it, as if it were an artistic installation.
Main sculpture techniques
Sculpture involves various techniques for modelling the material. The most common are:
- Sculpted. It consists of mechanically removing the excess pieces from a block of material (generally using a chisel) to leave only the pieces that make up the desired figure.
- Modeling. Used on soft materials, it consists of shaping the paste using your hands or various metal tools, and then allowing it to dry and gain hardness. This is how clay, wax or plasticine is worked.
- Empty. A mold is made with the negative of the desired figure and some soft material is poured into it, which is then allowed to harden, the mold is broken or removed and the sculpture is obtained.
- Embossed. A hammer and a series of molds or wedges are used to print the desired reliefs or holes on a metal surface.
- Sausage. A hard mould is first made, onto which layers of softer metal, usually precious metal, are applied and then forced to take the shape of the mould by force of blows. This results in a hollow but solid-looking statue.
- Carving. Common for woodworking, it is equivalent to sculpting, but a knife or softer material is used to cut the material and extract whole pieces, obtaining a specific shape.
Wide variety of materials
At the moment, Any material can be used to make a sculptureHowever, the artist must take into account that the material gives it a specific appearance and also requires certain types of treatments.
Soft materials are more difficult to handle due to their crumbling, while The hard ones are resistant, but they require greater physical effort. Some common materials in sculpture are:
- Clay. Used by humans since prehistoric times, it is easy to shape and does not require tools. It is a wet material made of suspended sediments, which when dried obtains its hardness and fragility.
- Stone. The most abundant material in the world, in principle, whose hardness guarantees long-lasting results, but requires special tools and a lot of effort. The most common in sculpture are limestone, marble, sandstone, alabaster, granite, quartz and jade, among others.
- Stucco. A paste made from lime, marble dust, plaster, sand and casein glue, dating back to ancient Greece, when it was used to make moulds. It was later widely used in the Baroque period, together with coloured pigments.
- Metal. Iron, gold, copper, silver and bronze plates are common materials in the direct manufacture of works of art, either by deforming them, casting them or using them as a surface for embossing.
- Wood. Different types of wood serve different purposes in sculpture, and can be carved and painted, or used as a support for metal, ceramic or other pieces.
Qualities of sculpture
Since the 20th century, sculpture has tested its own limits, so There are very few properties that can be assigned to all the worksHowever, these generalizations can be pointed out, even if there are exceptions.
The sculptures in general they are hard, solid formswhich maintain their specific shape. Depending on the material they are made of, they will be more or less resistant, more or less flexible and more or less durable.
Each one transmits an aesthetic, political or historical content. to whoever contemplates them, but it may vary over time. Museums are not only responsible for exhibiting these works but also for offering the most appropriate conditions for their conservation.
Why is sculpture important?
First of all, the sculpture It is a form of artistic expression. Along with architecture, it is the art that is most present in the urban landscape, in streets, parks and accompanying important buildings.
Besides, In general, his works are durable over time. and they may survive the generation that made them, serving as a document for later generations or educating them in some element of their tradition. This is what happens with statues of heroes, for example, generally located in squares.
contemporary sculpture
As with many other forms of art, sculpture underwent great changes throughout the 20th century. Since then, abstract art had a huge presence in contemporary arthand in hand with movement, chromaticity and geometric shapes, leaving behind the realistic representation of the human figure.
Constant experimentation is also a contemporary imprint, as well as the use of waste materialsor of common industrial or commercial elements, as happened with the ready-made by Frenchman Marcel Duchamp in 1913.
famous sculptors
Some famous sculptors are:
- Of antiquity. Phidias (480-430 BC), Polycleitus (-420 BC).
- From the European Renaissance. Michelangelo Buonarotti (1475-1564), Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519), Donatello (1386-1466).
- From the Modern Age. Antonio Canova (1757-1822), Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), Antonio Corradini (1688-1752).
- From the 20th century. Alexander Calder (1898-1976), Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), Camille Claudel (1864-1943), Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968).
Examples of sculpture
Some famous sculptures are:
- Aphrodite of Milos (130 BC-100 BC) by Alexandros of Antioch.
- The Pietà (1498-1499) by Michelangelo Buonarotti.
- The Thinker (1881-1882) by Auguste Rodin.
- Fontaine (1917) by Marcel Duchamp,
- Caracas Sphere (1997) by Jesus Soto.