Sculpture: types, genres, materials and techniques

Sculpture is called an art that needs courage. A somewhat strange interpretation, you might say. In fact, this is how the great Auguste Rodin, one of the founders of impressionism in sculpture, described the artist’s work on sculpture: “I take a block of marble and cut off everything unnecessary.” And this is about courage and the state of the soul, he added. Modern monumental sculpture occupies a worthy place in today’s communication of fine art with the philosophy of worldview, in order to then reproduce everything in a work of art that has a three-dimensional form and takes into account the characteristics of the materials.

From the origins to the present

The first traces of sculptural images appeared long before our era and were the personification of the knowledge and skills of our ancestors of the Paleolithic era, who sought to preserve the memory of members of their tribe in this way. Subsequently, artists of the ancient world began to decorate architectural masterpieces such as the pyramids in Egypt, reliefs in Mesopotamia and India with sculptures of gods, pharaohs, mythical creatures, and stone carving became popular in ancient China. Such stone monuments decorated the houses and tombs of the nobility, testifying to the high status of the owners.

The main form of ancient sculpture is the ubiquitous statues of people and gods: in temples, on city squares and sea coasts, in gardens and parks. Such Greek sculptures reproduced human proportions, idealized the human appearance and combined sophistication, emotional state and perfection in stone statues. The same idealization of man was borrowed by the artists of Ancient Rome, who also gave sculpture an ideological component – the greatness of military power.

Later came the times of the Renaissance with Michelangelo Buonarroti, classicism and modernism with Auguste Rodin, Umberto Boccioni and the Ukrainian Alexander Archipenko, who became the founder of Cubism in sculpture. Now this type of art represents many directions in which minimalism and geometry of form, monumentality and purity of lines, perfect interaction with the environment are of particular importance.

Types of sculpture

The classification of works is different, but all types of sculptures are united by an indispensable component – sense of volume and the principle of touch and corporeality. So, by purpose there are the following sculptures:

• monumental, characterized by the image of a specific person or group of people in monuments and memorials;
• monumental-decorative, decorates the landscape – park and garden sculptures;
• easel, has small forms, specific content and is mainly placed in the interior or public spaces;
• small forms, the genres of sculpture in this case are quite diverse in theme;
• small plastic forms made of semi-precious stones, ivory, wood, art glass, etc.

By volume, sculptural works have two main types, but their forms are varied:

1. Round sculpture, which can be freely viewed from all sides:

• statue – full-length figure;
• figurine – miniature figurine;
• sculptural group;
• torso – an image of the human body as a whole;
• bust – a bust of a person;
• head.

1. Relief – a convex image placed on a wall. Only the front side can be seen. Depending on the location, they are divided into:

• bas-relief – a small composition;
• high relief – more than half of the figure protrudes, which allows you to view the sculpture from three sides;
• counter-relief – a relief in a recess of the surface;
• mixed relief.

Modern round sculpture can also be kinetic, that is, capable of independent movement. The artist embodies all these forms in different genres (animalism, portrait, everyday life, history, mythology, still life), when custom sculpture is needed in a realistic, allegorical or abstract form.

Methods of making sculpture

culpture has special requirements for detail and expressiveness to convey the essence of the image. Each idea requires a certain material, the physical properties and texture of which will accurately convey the artist’s intention. It is the characteristics of the material that are able to convey the meaning of the sculpture and at the same time leave a chance to form your own perception. So, the materials for sculpture, created by casting, molding, carving, glyptics, are:

• bronze, suitable for volumetric compositions in the open air, conveying dynamic forms;
• wood – a warm and easy-to-process material, capable of reproducing any theme;
• stone – natural (granite, marble) or artificial (decorative concrete) – easily processed, durable;
• gypsum and clay – characterized by plasticity;
• fiberglass or polymer materials.

Whatever material the sculpture is made of, it always contains the soul and personality of its creator. Therefore, it is best to order a sculpture from a professional studio. At Art Sculptor, you are guaranteed a highly artistic, exclusive work.