Types of sculpture. Sculpture as a form of fine art

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

What is sculpture? This is a kind of fine art, sculpting images of three-dimensional form, creating images using specific materials (solid or plastic, depending on the purpose). Clay, wood, wax, bone, metal can be used. There are varieties of sculptures of a public nature, located in parks, squares, squares. There are creations that are more significant in terms of artistic value. These are museum-quality 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 it is not necessary to expect a complete match with the original. Exact copies are only possible using the casting method, when the alloy is poured into the same mold.

What is sculpture from an artist's point of view? First of all, it is an opportunity to express oneself, to embody in the image one's vision of this or that image. Existing types of sculpture make it possible to fully reflectany plot, it all depends on the skill of the sculptor. In this case, the correct choice of material is of no small importance. Often in the practice of creating sculptural images, the discrepancy between the intended creation and the quality of the raw material becomes obvious. Clay is replaced by marble or vice versa, hard stone gives way to clay mass, followed by firing of the finished product.

The sculptor carefully chooses the material when making miniatures.

David and Galatea

And, finally, what is sculpture in the understanding of ordinary people who are drawn to art and eager to get acquainted with its deep content? Of course, these are masterpieces of world significance - a marble sculpture of David, which was sculpted by Michelangelo Buonarroti, or Pygmalion's Galatea, who idolized the creation of his own hands. He fell in love with a beautiful statue as a man can love a woman. Is this not true art?

There are many answers to the question of what sculpture is, but the most correct one 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 the idea to be fully realized, the viewer has to conjecture.

Statue of Nefertiti

Sculpture as a form of fine art has ancient roots. At one time, images of the Egyptian queen Nefertiti dated to the 14th century BC were found. The artistic merits of the statue did not always correspond to the classical canons, however,the fact that in ancient times there were craftsmen who sculpted three-dimensional images speaks volumes.

Types and genres of sculpture even then could be quite diverse. Available materials of ancient times are clay, marble and sandstone. Thanks 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 the artistic sculptures remind us of the past.

Varieties of images

Consider the main types of sculpture. The list includes the following types:

- Round, or voluminous, is the most common type. 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. A separate position is occupied by wooden sculpture, which is often a true work of art. An example is the 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 Argentinean statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro (38 meters), the "Motherland" in Volgograd (85 meters), the "Motherland" monument in Kyiv (sixty-two meters). In most cases, such statues are of a heroic nature. Smaller statues have a different purpose, most often decorative.

Sculptures on pedestals are monuments dedicated togreat people or events.

- Tondo is a round sculpture in the form of a bas-relief. Michelangelo Buonarroti worked in this manner. Two of his most famous works are Doni Madonna and Tadei's Tondo. Raphael also used this technique - he created "Madonna Alba" and "Madonna in the Chair".

- Effigia is a sculptural headstone. It was used at the burials of noble nobles. Most often, the image repeated the appearance of the deceased. Also, effigy was used for the symbolic execution of a convicted criminal, if he managed to escape. In this case, his sculptural image was executed.

Popular species

- Snow sculptures. The most common is a snowman or a snowman. There are examples of building giant snowmen. So, in 1992, a woman 37 meters high was molded in the USA, which was included in the Guinness Book of Records. Every year, competitions are held in different parts of the world for the best snowman and sculptural groups of snow and ice.

- Small plastic - sculptural images no more than 15 centimeters high. It includes a number of thematic areas: Chukchi carved bone, Bogorodsk carving, tin miniature, glyptic (stone carving), miniature images of animals. The most time-consuming method is artistic products in the manner of glyptics. Bone carving is also valued. The material for this trade is walrus tusk - quite plastic, well polishable. Mostly small sculpturesare designed for interior design and embody arts and crafts.

Rare Species

- Netsuke - miniature sculptural images, the highly artistic art of bone carving, a national Japanese craft. The material used is the fangs of marine animals or ivory (that is, the tusks of ordinary land elephants). Plots of miniatures in the style of netsuke can be very diverse. These are all kinds of figurines on biblical themes, figurines of gods, animals and fish. The art of Japanese bone carving is famous all over the world. Antique netsuke, which are over a hundred years old, are highly valued. Such products are considered rarities and are quite expensive. Master carvers of the old school go to another world, and the art of netsuke gradually degenerates. Schools that teach bone carving techniques are unable to pass on to the new generation all the subtleties of the craft.

- Medal art - sculptural images on the 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 - a 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 mascaron style are used to decorate temples, large sacred buildings or grandiose architectural structures.

Easelsculpture

Assumes close range perception. The conditional connection with the inner world of a person is emphasized, while a narrative plot is visible, as well as an absolute lack of relationship with the subject environment, and especially with interior specifics.

Not all types of sculpture are listed, but we have tried to present the reader with the main directions of this truly amazing work.

The integrity of creation

The expressiveness of a 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. At the same time, the master must introduce more and more elements of artistry in the process of his creativity. This is the only way to achieve a high result.

Sculpture technologies are associated with great physical labor, they are also associated with many technical processes: embossing, forging, casting, welding, carving, all kinds of cuts. It is not possible for a single sculptor to manufacture a product from start to finish, so master assistants are involved in the work, who cut the stone, form castings and mint the initial phases of the image.

A strong bond of times

At all times there have been talented masters of their craft. Some sculptors sculpted from a single piecemarble, others preferred a more malleable material, but in both cases unique masterpieces came out from under the cutter.

Historical and modern sculpture are quite identical, they are united by a thematic commonality - the desire of the masters to depict the reality in which they live and are engaged in creativity. The materials used in this can also contribute to the convergence of eras.

History and types of sculpture are closely intertwined. So, in antiquity there were directions of volumetric sculpture, which take place 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 formations thanks to the masters who lived in the fifteenth - nineteenth centuries, among whom were Auguste Rodin, Giovanni Bernini, Betto Bardi Donatello, Jean-Antoine Houdon, 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 20th century also gave mankind a galaxy of talented masters of artistic sculpture, such as Vera Mukhina, Sergei Konenkov, Aristide Maillol, Henry Moore, Emile Antoine Bourdelle. On the account of these geniuses of their work - a lot of memorial ensembles, group and individual sculptures, park complexes in the open air. All types of sculpture oriented to installation in public places had to be maintained in a certain ideologicalstyle, and the authors did a great job with this task.

How to guess the type of sculpture

And at the end of this article, we want to share some observations. In many crosswords, chainwords or crossword puzzles, it is proposed to guess the following word: "view of sculpture, 8 letters." This indicates the popularity of sculptural art. As for the answer to the question asked, from eight letters, many words can be found related to the specified topic. This is both a "bas-relief", and a "high relief", and a "monument".