HISTORY OF

Sculpture

The arrival of Homo sapiens , the human genius for image-making becomes abundantly clear. In the recesses of caves, people begin to decorate the rock face with an important

theme in their daily lives. And sculptors carve portable images of another predominant

interest of mankind - the swelling curves of the female form, emphasizing the fertility on

which the survival of the tribe depends. Perhaps the most famous of early

sculptures is the so-called Venus of Willendor found at Willendorf in Austria on August 7th, 1908 during a systematic excavation in the

ninth and highest layer of Site II in Willendorf. Dating from more than 25,000 years ago, she

is only about four inches high and made in limestone.  

The art of our species

The Egyptian style: from 3100 BC

Egyptian sculpture and all Egyptian art was based on the belief in a life after death. The pyramids, great monumental tombs of Giza, were built for the most powerful early rulers. The pharaoh and his wife were buried in chambers cut deep inside the huge blocks of stone. Life-size and even larger statues, carved in slate, alabaster, and limestone, were as regular and simple in shape as the tombs themselves. Placed in the temples and inside the burial chambers, these statues were images of the rulers, the nobles, and the gods worshiped by the Egyptians. The Egyptians believed that the spirit of the dead person could always return to these images. Hundreds ofsmaller statuettes in clay or wood showed people engaged in all the normalactions of life: kneading bread, sailing, counting cattle. These statuettes were astonishingly lifelike. Scenes carved in relief and painted in the tomb chambersor on temple walls described Egyptian life in all its variety. Egyptian sculptorsalways presented ideas clearly. The pharaoh or noble is made larger than less important people. In relief sculpture every part of a figure is clearly shown. An eye looking straight forward is placed against the profile of a face, theupper part of the body faces front, and the legs are again in profile. TheEgyptians often combined features from various creatures to symbolizeideas. For example, the human head of the pharaoh Khafre is added to thecrouching figure of a lion to form the Great Sphinx. This compositionsuggests the combination of human intelligence and animal strength.Egyptian sculptors made standing and seated figures in the round and inRelief.

The Great Pyramids of Giza

The sphinx: c.2500 BCThe most colossal sculpture of the

ancient world is the Egyptian sphinx. The great lion with a human face is

carved from the centre of a limestone quarry, after the tons of stone which once surrounded it have been hacked

and dragged away to form the greatest of the three nearby pyramids, that of the pharaoh Khufu. The sphinx lies

guarding the pyramids at Giza. Its face is believed to bear the features of Khafre, son of Khufu, whose own

pyramid is only slightly more modest than that of his father. 

Akhenaten and Nefertiti: c.1340 BC

The sculptures found in the house of Thutmose, court sculptor at Tell el Amarna, reveal the level of realism

achieved in 14th-century Egypt - inspired by the instruction of the pharaoh, Akhenaten, that the artists should aim for truthfulness. The best known are the various heads of Akhenaten's wife, Nefertiti. One in

particular (now in Berlin) has become perhaps the most famous of ancient Egyptian sculptures. In about 1324 BC

a young pharaoh dies. His reign, lasting some nine years, has been insignificant. The main event under his rule has been the reversal of the religious reforms of

Akhenaten, his predecessor. The most evocative single object in the tomb of Tutankahamen is the gilded throne,

with its apparently intimate scene set into the back; Tutankhamen's queen, Ankhesenamen, tenderly anoints him on the shoulder, as if perhaps for his coronation. But the jumble of goods in this treasure trove also includes solid gold heads of the king inlaid with precious stones, full-length figures of him in various guises, dramatic and

life-like animals, detailed alabaster boats and spectacular reliefs on a gilt shrine, together with

countless other objects which demonstrate both the artistry and the technical skill of Egyptian sculpture.

Abu Simbel: c.1250 BCWhen the pharaoh Ramses II decides to create a great monument to himself at the first

cataract of the Nile,he conceives the earliest and probably the most impressive of all rock-cut shrines adorned with statuary. At Abu Simbel a sloping sandstone rock rises high above the Nile. Ramses' sculptors and labourers are given the task of hacking into the rock face - to expose first four colossal seated statues of the pharaoh himself (each

some 65 ft high), to be followed, as they cut further back, by the flat facade against which these great sculptures are to be seen. With the imposing front of the temple thus

achieved, the next stage is even more remarkable. A tall rectangular cavity is cut into the centre of the facade at ground level. Three connecting chambers recede behind this door

- together stretching 185 ft into the hillside. A corridor through the first great hall is formed by four pairs of pillars, left in place to support the rock above. Each pillar, 30 ft high, is carved as a standing image of Ramses in Nubian dress. The walls behind the pillars are carved and painted with scenes of Ramses in triumph. He is represented in

several military campaigns, with special emphasis on his gallant behaviour in his chariot at the battle of Kadesh. He and his sons are seen offering Nubian, Hittite and Syrian

prisoners as sacrifices to Amen-Re. A second chamber leads on into the third and inner sanctuary where Ramses sits as a god beside Amen-Re. On

two days of the year, February 22 and October 22, the rays of the rising sun penetrate to the very back of the temple to fall upon these two central figures. In the 1960s this extraordinary temple is threatened by Egypt's construction of the Aswan dam. The

waters of the Nile, rising behind the dam, will completely submerge Ramses' spectacular piece of self-promotion. A major international effort organized by UNESCO saves the

situation. The temple is cut from the rock and is sliced into pieces to be reassembled on the hillside above the intended level of the water. In an extraordinarily reversal of

techniques, a space originally achieved by a process of scooping out is now preserved as a free-standing structure.

The marble figures of the Cyclades: 3000 BCThe most surprising early tradition in sculpture, coinciding

with the beginnings of art in Egypt, is that of the Cyclades - a group of islands in the northern Mediterranean,

scattered across the entrance to the Aegean sea. Here, from about 3000 BC, large numbers of marble figures are

carved. Most of them are of women, and they are designed to lie flat - perhaps suggesting death, for they have been

found mainly in graves. In one sense they are in the primitive tradition which begins with the Venus of

Willendorf. But they also develop an abstract quality which has seemed particularly attractive in our own time.

A Cycladic figure of about 2800 BC has the massive hips of a fertility goddess. Another, of some 300 years later, is

visibly in the same tradition but the form has now evolved into something which seems (to our eyes) extraordinarily modern - even sharing Picasso's free-thinking approach to

the human nose. Figures like this are made in large numbers in the Cyclades at this time. Most of them are small, about ten inches in length. This distinctive style fades away after about 2000 BC, as the islands come

under the influence of the stronger Minoan culture. But the Cyclades provide a fascinating glimpse of a primitive

tradition developing into one of great sophistication - without losing its primitive conservatism. 

The first American sculpture: 1200 BC

The sculpture of the American continent makes a powerful start. The style is primitive but the scale is monumental. Figures of this

kind, introduced by America's first civilization (that of the Olmecs at San Lorenzo and La Venta) will have a lasting influence

through 2000 years of central American culture. The most characteristic sculptures of San Lorenzo and La Venta are

astonishing creations. They are massive stone heads, more than two meters in height, of square-jawed and fat-lipped warriors,

usually wearing helmets with ear flaps. The chunky and uncompromising quality of these images will remain typical of much of the religious art of Mesoamerica, particularly in the

region around Mexico City. It can be seen in the rain-god masks of Teotihuacan (about 2000 years ago), in the vast standing

warriors at Tula (about 1000 years ago) and in the brutally severe monumental sculpture of the Aztecs (500 years ago). At the peak

of the Olmec culture, in central America, there is also a significant step towards naturalism in sculpture. It is relatively

isolated, leading to no lasting tradition, but it is no less impressive for that. It even prefigures, in a sense, the more heroic naturalism which will be the great achievement of classical Greek sculpture. One of the best-known Olmec figures in this style is the Wrestler.

The man's movements may suggest morning exercises rather than anything more pugnacious, but he is an entirely believable

human being.

Assyrian reliefs: 7th century BCEgyptian sculpture, both in relief and in the round, has

achieved an exquisite stillness. The marble figures of the Cyclades seem eternally patient. The Olmec civilization in America provides some rare examples of naturalistic

figures in the round. But much more is possible. Mesopotamia takes the next step. Assyrian sculptors of the 7th century BC demonstrate with great conviction how a complex sense of drama and movement can be

captured in stone. In about 645 BC Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria, commissions a series of carved reliefs for his new palace at Nineveh. They include several scenes of a lion hunt - a sport Reserved for the king himself. Many details of this famous relief are charged with high drama.

Grooms struggle to harness the king's horses, a dog strains at the leash, a lion races out of the cage opened by an attendant and another leaps at the king's chariot, to be warded off just in time by men with javelins. But

the most expressive details, and perhaps the most astonishing of all images in the early history of

sculpture, are the wounded lions - in particular a dying lioness.

Rival masterpieces: 5th century BCBy one of the strange coincidences of

history, the 5th century BC produces the first masterpieces in two incompatible styles of sculpture. Nearly 2500 years

later, these styles become bitter rivals in the studios of our own time. One is the classical realism which will prevail from the Renaissance to the end of the 19th

century. The other is the sculpture of Africa, distorting human features and

limbs in a dramatically expressive manner. African figures in this long and

vibrant tradition inspire Picasso's experiments with Cubism, which launch

the mainstream of modern art.

The Greek classical ideal: 5th - 4th century BC

Greece in the classical period makes the innovations which underlie the mainstream western tradition in art. This is true of both painting and

sculpture. The essential characteristic of classical Greek art is a heroic realism. Painters and sculptors attempt to reveal the human body, in

movement or repose, exactly as it appears to the eye. The emphasis will be on people of unusual beauty, or moments of high and noble drama. The scale and ambition of classical Greek sculpture can be seen in a

fragment of an early masterpiece. The famous Charioteer of Delphi, a life-size bronze, is the only surviving figure of a major group consisting of

the chariot and its horses, a royal passenger on board with the charioteer, and an attendant slave boy. This large work is presented to the temple of Apollo at Delphi by the ruler of a Greek colony in Sicily, to commemorate victory in the chariot race at the Pythian Games in 477 BC. The charioteer is shown in his chariot during the victory parade. The

slight twist of the body, from bare feet to head, suggests an entirely natural stance - just as the arm seems to imply a light pressure on the reins. In an equally subtle way the face shows the quiet exultation of a man who has just won great honour in a solemn competition. Athletic contests in Greece have an almost religious status. A boy jockey, of

three centuries later, suggests how well the new naturalism of the Greek sculptors will cope with movement. This bronze distillation of human vitality, in the excitement of the race, is one of the most enchanting

images to survive from the ancient world.Charioteer of

Delphi

The nude in Greek sculpture: from the 5th c. BCThe male body is an acknowledged object of beauty in

ancient Greece; and the male nude is perhaps the greatest achievement of Greek sculpture. The earliest surviving

masterpiece of this kind dates from about 480 BC. Attributed to the sculptor Kritios, it shows a young man in a completely

natural stance. His weight is on one leg and hip, with the other knee flexed. The effect on the muscles under the skin,

through knees and buttocks up to the gentle curve of the back, is miraculously suggested in the marble. The most

famous Greek sculpture of an athlete in action dates from about forty years after the first surviving naturalistic male

nude. It is the Discus Thrower by Myron, in which the coiled body of the naked athlete seems for ever about to spin the disc away into the distance. The sculpture is known only in

Roman copies. Carved in marble, they need ungainly supports - such as the awkward tree trunk against which the

athlete seems to lean. The lost original, cast in bronze, needs no such encumbrances. Like the Charioteer of Delphi, this image makes heavy demands on the skills of the Greek

bronze-casters.

Discus Tower

Kritios

Sculpture as a public statement: from the 5th c. BCThe mid-5th century represents a peak of Greek

sculpture, in quantity as well as quality. At exactly the period when Myron is creating the Discus Thrower, the Athenians are building the Parthenon. The sculptures and reliefs which decorate the temple are completed within about ten years, from 447 BC. The inner frieze,

showing a great Athenian procession, stretches for more than 150 meters, while the sculptures on the outer wall

occupy almost as much space and are far more elaborately carved. The Romans develop very skilfully

this Greek theme of a narrative frieze, using it particularly - since this is a militaristic society - for the important matter of publicizing Rome's victories. The

outstanding example is the continuous strip, nearly 200 meters long, which circles its way up the marble column

of Trajan in Rome. Dating from AD 113, it recounts in minute and realistic detail the emperor's successful

campaign in Dacia (the region of modern Romania) But the type of sculpture which the Romans make

particularly their own is the portrait bust.

Roman portraits and Christian ivories: 1st - 6th c. ADGreek sculptors sometimes carve heads which appear to be portraits. But

they are invariably of good-looking people, whose attractive faces shine with the light of reason. They seem idealized. A bust of Trajan provides a powerful

contrast. In their portrait busts Rome's emperors seem a bunch of unscrupulous thugs (as they do also in the historical

record). Nowhere in the ancient world do we feel so close to real people.

Rarely has the art of sculpture been used to such devastatingly honest effect. One Roman triumphal portrait achieves, by contrast, a heroic quality which will

make it extremely influential in later times. It is the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, originally standing on the Capitol in Rome. Made of gilded bronze (and a

superb achievement of bronze casting), it is probably created to celebrate victories in the east in AD 162-4. A notable exception, in the years before the final collapse of the Roman empire in the west, is the early tradition of Christian ivories. The best of

them are carved in Rome in the 5th century and in Constantinople slightly later. These beautiful little panels of Gospel scenes, in a miniature version of the naturalism of

Greece and Rome, often achieve a profound serenity. They are like a gentle farewell to the classical tradition of the Mediterranean, before the emergence of a new and

vigorous style of sculpture in northern Europe.

Indian sculpture: from the 3rd century BC

The lively traditions of Indian sculpture date back to the first Indian empire, that of the Maurya dynasty.

Sculptors begin to carve characters and scenes from the stories of India's three interconnected religions -Hinduism, 

Buddhism and to a lesser extent Jainism. The presentation tends to be frontal, as though the figures are posing for the camera. From

the start, among other themes, there are examples of Hindu art's most abiding image - magnificent young women, nude, full-breasted, and often in

some strikingly athletic pose (as in the famous temples of Khajuraho, of about the 11th century AD). Occasionally these are just female attendants, but more often they are characters of legend. In the early centuries, Hindu and Buddhist

art falls within the same tradition (the magnificent Buddhist carvings on the Great Stupa at Sanchi seem entirely Hindu). But Buddhist sculpture acquires a

character of its own when the religion moves outwards from India to the northwest. From the 1st century AD there is a strong school of Buddhist

sculpture in what is now northwest Pakistan. Known by the ancient name of Gandhara, this region is

open to foreign influences arriving along the newly opened Silk Road. One such influence from the west is the Roman and Gree realism in art. In

Gandhara sculpture this realism is subtly combined with the local traditions of India to produce Buddhist images of an elegantly classical kind.

Buddhist sculpture: 5th - 6th century ADBuddhism moves out of India and into

Afghanistan (where the two great rock-carved Buddhas of Bamiyan, from the 6th century,

reveal the influence of Gandhara until destroyed by the Taliban in 2001). It then

continues east along the Silk Road towards China. Mahayana Buddhism, the variety

progressing along this route, offers a range of legendary figures which provide ample

opportunity for the imagination of the sculptors. Some of the settlements which develop along

the road, at places such as Yün-kang (lying safely just south of the Great Wall of China),

have caves which can be adorned with sculpture carved in the rock. Encouraged by the stream of

pilgrims and merchants (visiting, marvelling, contributing funds), Chinese sculptors rise

magnificently to the occasion.

An unusual tradition within African sculpture is the cast-metal work done from about the 12th century in what is

now southern Nigeria. It reaches a peak of perfection among the Yoruba people of Ife. Between the 12th and the

15th century life-size heads and masks, and smaller full-length figures - all of astonishing realism - are cast in brass

and sometimes in pure copper. These figures have an extraordinary quiet intensity. This craft, perfected by the

Yoruba people, is continued from the 15th century in Benin - still today a great center of metal casting. The Benin heads, delightful but less powerful in their impact than

those of Ife, are commonly known as Benin bronzes. In fact they are made of brass, melted down from vessels and

ornaments arriving on the trade routes (in 1505-7 alone, the Portuguese agent delivers 12,750 brass bracelets

to Benin). The arrival of the Portuguese prompts the Benin sculptors to undertake a new style of work - brass plaques with scenes in relief, in which the Portuguese themselves

sometimes feature. These plaques are nailed as decoration to the wooden pillars of the royal palace.

Ife and Benin: from the 12th century

Romanesque: 9th - 12th centuryRomanesque, a word not coined until the 18th century, is first used to

describe the architecture of western Europe from about the 9th to 12th century. The term remains most appropriate to architecture, where the

round arches of Romanesque can easily be seen as what the name implies - a continuation of the Roman tradition. The round arch is characteristic of much in Roman building (as, for example, in the

churches of Ravenna). The capitals of columns, carved with nothing more exotic than acanthus leaves in the classical tradition, provide one area in which the Romanesque sculptor lets his imagination run wild. In abbey cloisters of the period (and abbots are among the main patrons

of art in the Romanesque centuries) the tops of the pillars are often alive with vivid biblical scenes or endearingly grotesque monsters,

cunningly carved to make the most of the available shape. This tradition of sculpture, reaching its peak in the 11th and 12th century, is a delight to any but the most stern. But a very strict voice of the time,

that of St Bernard, expresses Outrage at these lively frivolities. A favorite subject for the tympanum is the Last Judgement , particularly

in churches such as Moissac or Conques on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela . The theme vividly reminds the pilgrims of

the need for pious devotion; and the numerous characters (particularly the damned and their tormenting devils) provide fine opportunities for

the sculptors.

Gothic: 12th - 15th centuryGothic, descriptive now of some of the most sublime creations of

the European imagination, begins as a term of abuse. It is used by theorists in the Renaissance to blame the Goths for 1000

years of non-classical architecture – from 410 (when Rome is sacked by the Visigoths) to 1419 (when Brunelleschi uses

classical motifs on the façade of a foundling hospital in Florence). The term is applied also to sculpture of the same period, much of it found on buildings. The interior gives an impression of lightness and height, with slender columns framing large tall windows and reaching up to support a

delicately ribbed stone roof. The exterior is encrusted with a filigree of delicate ornament, again essentially slender and

vertical, made up of a blend of elegant statues, bobbly pinnacles, the skeletal patterns of the stone tracery in the windows, and the open fretwork of flying buttresses. By contrast Gothic sculptures are tall and thin, reflecting the

soaring vertical lines of the new style. Alcoves to each side of high cathedral porches are the favourite location for these

figures. The abbey church of St Denis is again the pioneer, but the wise and foolish virgins either side of the porch there have been much damaged and restored. Chartres offers the earliest

surviving examples of Gothic sculpture. 

An important element of the Renaissance is the rediscovery of the realistic free-standing human figure as sculpted in Greece and Rome. But the emergence of Renaissance sculpture is not nearly as sudden a process as the change involved in Renaissance architecture. From the time of the north porch of

Chartres, in the early 13th century, sculptors create entirely believable people in stone - though attached, invariably, to the walls of buildings. Gradually these figures begin to detach themselves, as if moving towards a more independent

existence. The statues liberated in this way are among the masterpieces of Gothic sculpture. But they are also the harbingers of the Renaissance. Later in the 13th century, from about 1260, stone figures at Naumberg achieve a new degree of

humanity. Standing against the wall of the choir, they supposedly depict the founders of the cathedral - dim figures from a distant past. But Ekkehart and Uta stare at the viewer as boldly and believably as if they had only this moment been

fixed in stone. In 1395 the duke of Burgundy commissions a work from Claus Sluter. He is to provide a scene of Calvary, set on a carved base, to surmount the well of

a charterhouse near Dijon. The Calvary has been destroyed, but the base survives - surrounded by six sturdy Old Testament prophets. These figures, carved in 1400-1405, stand as free and as convincing as anyone possibly could whose eternal task

is to stand guard round a well (the Well of Moses). With these prophets the naturalistic side of the Renaissance makes its appearance in the north, several years ahead of Donatello in Florence. The classical theme of the Renaissance is more specifically Italian. But that too is anticipated a good century and a half

before Donatello.

From Gothic to Renaissance: 13th - 14th century

The sculptures of Chartres: 1150-1220The earliest porch of Chartres cathedral - the triple entrance in the west façade - introduces Gothic sculpture in its most extreme form. Each of the biblical kings and

queens stands on a tiny platform projecting from a tall, thin pillar. To suit their circumstance, their bodies are

impossibly elongated within the tumbling pleats of their full-length robes. Yet their faces, by contrast, are realistic and benign.  One of the Chartres sculptors is believed to

have undertaken these figures after completing the virgins for the porch of St Denis. So the Gothic style may have been introduced almost in its entirety by Abbot Suger.

The figures in the north porch of Chartres are added half a century later, from about 1195 to 1220. Recognizably in the same style, they are still unusually tall and thin. But

instead of being ethereal figures, they are beginning to stir themselves as human beings. Their predecessors in the west porch are aligned with their pillars, as if pinned to them like rare butterflies. The new figures stand more

naturally between the pillars. And they look about. They make gestures. 

Three Florentine friends, an architect, a sculptor and a painter, are recognized in their own time as being the founders of a new direction in art - subsequently known as the Renaissance.  They

differ considerably in age. The architect, Brunelleschi, is the oldest. The sculptor,

Donatello, is about ten years younger. The painter, Masaccio, is about fifteen years younger again, though he is by a wide margin the first to

die. Brunelleschi's first biographer (Antonio Manetti, writing in the 1480s) states that

Donatello accompanies the older man on trips to Rome to study the style of the ancients. Whether true or not - and scholars tend to doubt the story

- it is undeniable that between 1411 and 1417 Donatello carves two free-standing figures in a

more purely classical style (and with much greater artistry) than anything attempted by

predecessors such as Nicola Pisano. 

Art and architecture in Florence: 1411-1430

Donatello: 1411-1450

In 1411 the young Donatello, in his mid-twenties, provide a marble statue of St Mark. In about 1415

he delivers to them the first free-standing Renaissance sculpture. Donatello's next work for Orsanmichele, probably completed in 1417, has

much more openly a classical quality. St George, a clean-shaven young man scantily clad in Roman armour, confronts the viewer with a direct look

closer to the heroic qualityof Greek sculpture than to the brutal

realism of Rome.  Donatello's most famousstatue - the astonishing bronze David, a boy in asaucy hat with the head of Goliath at his feet. Donatello revives yet another ancient tradition,

in a work of lasting influence, when he is commissioned in 1443 to provide an equestrian portrait for Padua of the Venetian condottiere

Erasmo da Narni, known as Gattamelata. The work is completed in about 1450 and is set up in Padua

in 1453.

St.

George

David

Gattamela

ta

Renaissance man: 15th - 16th century

The term Renaissance Man has come to mean “someone with exceptional skills in a wide range of fields”. The description applies to

many people during the Renaissance (a period when it is assumed that artistic talent can be

easily adapted to differing crafts), but there are two outstanding candidates for the title.

They are Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. The older man, Leonardo, is exceptional in

that he excels in two entirely different disciplines - experimental science and the visual arts. But on the artistic side alone,

Michelangelo must be the man. He creates works, all of the highest quality, in the four

distinct fields of sculpture, painting, architecture and poetry.

Michelangelo the sculptor: 1499-1516Early in 1499 a sculpture of

the Virgin Mary, holding on her lap the dead Christ, is

placed in one of the chapels of old St Peter's in Rome.

This Pietà is still one of the most beautiful works of art in the mighty new St Peter's, completed a century later. It is by a sculptor who has just

turned twenty-four - Michelangelo.

The youthful Bernini: 1618-1625No sculptor, other than Michelangelo with his

early Pieta, has ever made such an immediate impact as Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini. In his early twenties he

produces an extraordinary series of innovative masterpieces for a single patron, Cardinal Scipione

Borghese.Two in particular break new ground. When Pluto lifts

Prosperpina (Pluto and Proserpina 1621-2), his fingers, sinking with the exertion into her outer thigh,

transform marble into soft flesh as never before. In Apollo and Daphne (1622-5) the fleeing Daphne,

changing before our eyes into a laurel tree, seems to deny for ever the static element in sculpture. The new style of baroque has already found its greatest master.

Europe in the 17th century, and in particular Roman Catholic, Europe revels in a new artistic style embracing architecture as well as painting and sculpture. In many contexts, such as church interiors, the baroque combines all three arts in

an unprecedented way to create a sense of emotional exuberance.

This mood is very different from the dignified and often severe masterpieces of

the Renaissance. The term barocco is first used to suggest

disapproval. It is thought to derive from a Portuguese word for a misshapen pearl.Certainly unbalance and excess are the

qualities which baroque artists indulge inand turn to advantage.

Baroque as a style: 17th - 18th c.

Neoclassicism: 18th - 19th centuryEver since the Renaissance, successive generations of

artists and architects have turned to classical models for inspiration. Even at the height of baroque (the least classical of styles in mood or line) contemporary grandees are often

depicted in togas. Military heroes, however foolish they may look, strutt in the stiff ribbed kilt of the Roman legionary.

During the 18th century a quest for classical authenticity is undertaken with new academic vigour. There are several reasons. Archaeological sites such as Pompeii are being

excavated. And interest is shifting from the Roman part of the classical heritage to the Greek.

Pompeii

African wood carving: 19th - 20th centuryWood is the natural material for carving. In the 20th

century sculpture, wood is still very much a living tradition. But earlier work has crumbled

irretrievably, eaten by ants or rotted by damp.

Even the body of art surviving to us in this tradition is immensely rich. It powerfully suggests how much

has been lost.

Tribal carving is done for a clear and practical purpose. A figure may represent an ancestor, destined to stand in a shrine. A mask may be

intended for use by a shaman just once a year in a special dance.

A post may be designed to prop up a chief'sverandah or to form part of a palisade round

his house. An elaborate chair is likely to be forthe chief himself to sit on. All of them will be

better if carved in a dramatic orpropitious way.

Tribal art and cubism: 20th century Wherever the reason for the range of tribal art, the result is an unrivalled

display of the power of the imagination. The basic subject, as in western sculpture, is the human body. But the tribal sculptor is liberated from the

straitjacket of realism.The material used is limited to the parts of the body, but constantly reassembles them in new dimensions and relationships. From a central axis of eyes, nose,

mouth, navel and genital organs, to the peripheral cast list of hair, ears, arms, breasts, legs and buttocks,

there is no predicting which of these elements will take the starring roles in any one production. Startling

imbalance is restored to balance by the force of strong design. 

Minimalist Sculpture 1960forms of art and design, especially visual art and music,

where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts. As a specific movement in the arts it is identified with developments in post–World War II Western Art, most strongly with American visual arts in the

1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with this movement include Ad Reinhardt, Tony Smith, Donald

Judd, John McCracken, Agnes Martin, Dan Flavin, Robert Morris, Larry Bell, Anne Truitt, and Frank Stella. It is rooted in the reductive aspects of Modernism, and is often interpreted

as a reaction against Abstract expressionism and a bridge to Postminimal art practices.

Land Art: Environmental Sculpture: 1960An sculpture that creates or alters

the environment for the viewer, as opposed to presenting itself figurally or monumentally before the viewer.

A frequent trait of larger environmental sculptures is that one can actually enter or pass through the sculpture and be partially or

completely surrounded by it. Also, in the same spirit, it may be designed to generate shadows or reflections,

or to color the light in the surrounding area.

Architectural SculptureArchitectural sculpture is the term for the

use of sculpture by an architect and/or sculptor in the design of a building, bridge,

mausoleum or other such project. The sculpture is usually integrated with the

structure, but freestanding works that are part of the original design are also

considered to be architectural sculpture.It has also been defined as, an integral part of a building or sculpture created especially

to decorate or embellish an architectural structure. Architectural sculpture has been employed by builders throughout history, and in virtually every continent on earth

save pre-colonial Australia.

SculptorAnd

its Works

Donatello Nationality: Italian Full Name: Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi Date of Birth: He was born in 1386 Family: He was the son of Nicolo di Betto Bard

A wool merchant in Florence One of his patrons was Cosimo de Medici.

Date of Death: December 13, 1466

Accomplishments:o Italian sculptor of the early Renaissance period. The most famous works of art by

Donatello include David, Mary Magdalene, Madonna, Salome, Zuccone, St. Mark, St. John the Evangelist and St. George and the Dragon

o Donatello was a forerunner of humanistic expression and worked towards creating a system of perspective

o Donatello produced sculptures in marble, bronze, terracotta and woodo Donatello was one of the first Renaissance artists interested in the Classical art and

architecture of ancient Greece and Rome and became the first artist of the Renaissance to create a nude statue

o Donatello invented a technique known as schiacciato, or shallow relief, which achieved effects of spatial depth

o Donatello was the first sculptor to employ bronze as a sculpting medium, encouraging other artists to experiment with different materials.

 The famous as the first unsupported standing work of bronze cast during

the Renaissance, and the first freestanding nude male sculpture made since antiquity. It depicts David with an enigmatic smile, posed with his foot on

Goliath's severed head just after defeating the giant. The youth is completely naked, apart from a 

laurel-topped hat and boots,bearing the sword of Goliath.

Height: 158 cm.

David( 1430 )

One of his best-known and most admired works

Gattamelata( 1453 )

An equestrian statue created in the image of Venetian condottiere Erasmo da Nami. Typically, equestrian statues of this kind were reserved for rulers and kings. The

statue can still be seen today in the Piazza del Santo.

A relief in which the dauntless St. George, astride his horse, plunges a spear into a dragon's chest - is one of the earliest reliefs of its kind and Donatello's first attempt to produce a three-dimensional effect on a flat

surface. 

St. George and the Dragon( 1417 )

St. John the Baptist( 1438 )

Shunned for its apparent weakness and fragility at a time when marble was the

favored sculpting medium. In Donatello's later works, however, there is evidence of the

impending Mannerist movement: exaggeratedly long limbs and intensely

emotional facial expressions.

Height: 141 cm.

He produced two outstandingly unique works in St. Mark and St. John the Evangelist. Both sculptures

catapulted the artist to fame, but St. Mark in

particular had a classical stance and an impressive

size that gave it a breathtakingly heroic aura.

St. Mark and St. John the EvangelistHeight: 236 cm.

Year Created: 1413 210 cm :Height

1411 :Year Created

In the year 1402, his sculpture

Lorenzo Ghiberti won a competition to

design the North Baptistery gates,

beating other notable artists Brunelleschi and Jacopo della Quercia.

Lorenzo Ghiberti

Frederic-Auguste BartholdiBorn: August 2, 1834, Colmar, FranceDied: October 4, 1904, Paris, France

He studied sculptor and painting in Paris. In 1870, he designed the Statue of Liberty to

mark the Franco-American alliance of 1778. He raised money in both France and the U.S. for the New York landmark. He also created the Lion of Belfort, which is carved out of

red sandstone in France and he also design the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Bartholdi FountainWashington

1876

Bartholdi created this cast-iron "Fountain of Light and Water" for the 1876 Centennial

Exposition in Philadelphia. The fountain, cast in Paris by A. Durenne, weighs 30,440 pounds, stands 30 feet high, and has

caryatid figures 11 feet in height. Bartholdi saw its combination of iron, gas light and water as symbolically appropriate for a

modern city.

Lion of Belfort1880

22 meters height11 meters width

The lion symbolizes the heroic French resistance during the Siege of Belfort,

a 103-day Prussian assault (from December 1870 to February 1871).

The city was protected from 40,000 Prussians by merely 17,000

men (only 3,500 were from the military) led by Colonel Denfert-

Rochereau.Instead of facing Prussia to the east as was intended, it was turned the other

way because of German protests.

Statue of Liberty1884

354 steps to reach the statue’s crown

The statue's face was modeled after his mother's (Charlotte) and the story goes that the body was modeled after a prostitute.

The crown of Lady Liberty, as the statue is often affectionately called, has seven spikes, symbolizing the Seven Seas across which liberty should be spread. In her left hand she holds a tablet with the Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776) and in her right hand a

torch, symbolizing Enlightenment.

Arctic Ocean Antarctic Ocean 

North Atlantic Ocean South Atlantic Ocean 

North Pacific Ocean South Pacific Ocean 

Indian Ocean 

The Seven Seas

Full Name: Liberty Enlightening the World.

The head of the statue was displayed at the World's Fair in

Paris in 1878.

GiambolognaBorn in 1529 in Flanders. After studying with Jacques du Broeucq, he moved to Italy and

began studying art in Rome. Much of his work was influenced by Michelangelo. The first

person who commissioned him was Pope Pius IV, who asked him to created the Neptune and

other figures for “Fountain of Neptune”. Florence became his home, when he settled

down in 1553. He was also when of the Medici family’s most important court sculptors. He

later died at the age of 79 in 1608. The statue “Hercules and the Centaur Nessus” was

created in 1599. Less than 10 years before giambologna’s death. This statue is based off

of Greek Mythology.

The Rape of the Sabine Women

1574-1582The  legendary history of Rome, traditionally dated to 750 BC, in which the first

generation of Roman men acquired wives for themselves from the

neighboring Sabine families. The English word rape is a conventional translation of

the Latin raptio, which in this context means "abduction" rather than its prevalent modern meaning in English language

of sexual violation.

Fountain of Neptune( Fontana di Nettuno )

1567The decorative fountain erected on the main square in Bologna is the first major work of the sculptor. Several models in clay and bronze record its evolution. With a vertical rather than horizontal emphasis, the format is pyramidal and architectonic. Consistent proportions

and the use of bronze throughout create an unity. The fantastic lower figures allow the viewer's eyes to

ascend to the Neptune, silhouetted against the sky depicted in a striding pose. His trident certifies his identity. Mermaids whose breasts spout water rise from the basin at the corners. Since the jets are

integrated with all the figures, the play of water unifies the fountain, the most sophisticated in Italy and

anticipatory, therefore, of the Baroque.

Joseph Nollekens (August 11,1737 – April 23,1823)

A Sculptor from London generally considered to be the finest British sculptor of the late 18th century.

Nationality: BritishDate of Birth:  August 11, 1737

London, United KingdomDate of Death: April 23, 1823

Minerva1775

Height: 56 11/16 inches

Goddess of war and wisdom, the stately Minerva stands like a majestic column as she raises her helmet. At her side rests a large shield, on which is carved the frightening head of the Medusa, used to ward off enemies. Her body is composed in

a spiral, which provides interesting views from several different angles. The marble statue formed part of a

Judgment of Paris group. According to ancient mythology, Paris was chosen to decide between Juno, Minerva, and

Venus for the title of "the fairest." Although Minerva promised him fame and glory in war, Paris chose Venus.

Castor and Pollux( San Ildefonso Group )

1767 - 1823

The twin brothers, together known as the Dioskouri. Their mother was Leda, but Castor

was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, and Pollux the divine son of Zeus, who seduced Leda in the guise of a swan. Though

accounts of their birth are varied, they are sometimes said to have been born from an egg,

along with their twin sisters Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra.

In Latin the twins are also known as the Gemini or Castores.  When Castor was killed,

Pollux asked Zeus to let him share his own immortality with his twin to keep them together,

and they were transformed into the constellation Gemini. The pair were regarded as the patrons of sailors, to whom they appeared

as St. Elmo's fire, and were also associated with horsemanship.

Jacopo della QuerciaNationality: ItalianDate of Birth:  1373

Siena ItalyDate of Death: October 20, 1438

Bologna, Papal State Familyo Father: Piero d’Angelo Sculptoro Brother: Priamo Painter

One of the most original Italian sculptors of the early 15th century. His

innovative work influenced Italian artists such as Francesco di Giorgio, Niccolò dell’Arca,

and Michelangelo.

In 1406 he was asked to build a new fountain in the Piazza del Campo in Siena. It had to replace the original fountain with a statue of the goddess Venus. This pagan statue was blamed for an

outbreak of the Black Plague. The statue was destroyed and buried outside the city walls to avert its "evil influence". This prestigious commission shows that he was already being recognized as

Siena's most prominent sculptor. The rectangular fountain, built in white marble, was dedicated to the Virgin, adorned on the three sides by many statues and multiple spouts. Because he accepted also other commissions at the same time, progress was slow. He started in 1414 and the fountain

was only finished in 1419. He carved the panels in the workshop for sculptors, next to the cathedral. This workshop is now converted into the Cathedral Museum. It was called Fonte Gaia,

because of the joy and the festivities when it was brought into operation. It is now a center of attraction for the many tourists. The old statues were replaced by copies in 1858 from Tito

Sarrocchi and are now on display in the loggia of the Palazzo Pubblico.

Fonte Gaia in Siena

Left Side Right SideMiddle

The Main Portal( 1425 – 1438 )

Jacopo della Quercia, a Sienese sculptor, executed these reliefs depicting Old

Testament subjects on each side of the main entrance to the basilica of San Petronio. Not only is he an important sculptor in his own right (an invited

competitor for the Florence Baptistry doors), but he served as an influence on the young Michelangelo, who worked in Bologna on the tomb of St. Dominic and

thus knew Jacopo's work.

The Creation of Adam

Although this image is distorted (taken with a telephoto lens shooting upwards so that the vertical dimension is collapsed), the

power of Jacopo's noble, muscular figures is readily apparent. Here God, with a

triangular "halo," representing the Trinity, brings Adam to life with his right hand.

Typically, Jacopo's head, hands, and feet are too large. This depiction influenced

Michelangelo's Creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel Ceiling.

The Creation of Eve

God, still with the triangular nimbus and

voluminous robe, brings Eve to life. The fig tree figures prominently in the background of this scene as it did in the

Creation of Adam.

The Detail of Temptation

This dramatic scene depicts Eve both rejecting (with her left hand) and accepting the fruit. Adam's gestures are

equally eloquent. His frowning face turns back toward Eve while his left

hand indicates his new need to cover his nakedness.

The angel pushes the resisting Adam from the gates of Paradise while

Eve assumes the pose of the classical modest Venus covering her

nudity.

The Expulsion

Claus Sluter

Full Name: Claes de Slutere van Herlam Date of Birth: 1304 in Holland, Netherland Family: He was the son of Nicolo di Betto Bard

A wool merchant in Florence One of his patrons was Cosimo de Medici.

Date of Death: 1405 in Dijon ( capital of Duchy of Burgundy )

There are three sculptural compositions executed by Sluter at Chartreuse de

Champmol( Dijon ) stand out more than others: the Church Portal, the Well of Moses and the Tomb of Philip the Bold. All three sculptures bear elements of innovation for which Sluter was

acknowledged as the most important sculptor of the 14th century. His sculptural work influenced both

sculptors and painters of his era. It is known that Jan van Eyck was one of his

admirers emulating Sluter's monumental expressiveness in his

paintings.

Master of Northern Late Gothic sculpture

Well of Moses( Pluits de Moise )

Built in the middle of the large 100 meters square cloister of the monastery. This work was a piece of innovative design as well as a great

engineering feat.The fountain was surmounted by a hexagonal

plinth on which stood six life-size figures of prophets of the Old Testament who foretold the coming of the Messiah: David, Jeremiah, Moses,

Daniel, Isaiah and Zachariah. Six weeping angels are represented above the prophets on

each top corner of the base. The hexagonal base was topped with the cornice. The cornice supported the Calvary group. The main feature of the construction was a huge cross with the figure of Mary Magdalene kneeling at its foot.

Duke’s Tomb

Duke's alabaster tomb features a recumbent effigy upon a sarcophagus and a

procession of 40 robed mourners. Originally placed in

the Champmol chapel, it is now displayed in the Museum

of Fine Arts in Dijon.

Nationality: ItalianDate of Birth:  April 15, 1452

Vinci, Republic of FlorenceDate of Death: May 2, 1519 (aged 67)

Amboise, Kingdom of France Known for: The diverse field of the arts and

sciences Work: Painter, Draftsman, Sculptor, Architect and

Engineer

Leonardo da Vinci

Paintings: Last Supper ( 1495 – 1498 ) Mona Lisa ( c. 1503 – 1406 )

Horse and Rider1508

Mastery:

The first bronze casting of Leonardo da Vinci's original

Horse and Rider wax sculpture was unveiled in Los Angeles; it

took three years to produce

Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Nationality: ItalianDate of Birth:  December 7,1598

Naples, Kingdom of Naples Present-day Italy

Date of Death: November 28, 1680 Rome, Papal State

Present-day Italy Work: Sculptor, Painter, Architect

The Goat Amalthea with the Infant Jupiter and a Faun

1615The statue itself is not large, meant for a table display.

This late-antique realism is said to be a result of his study of Hellenistic sculpture in his youth. Under the patronage of the

Cardinal Borghese, the young Bernini rapidly rose to prominence as a sculptor. Bernini’s special talent for portraying virtuosity and

the life of his subject matters still shine. The architecture, sculpture and fountains of Bernini (1598–1680) give highly

charged characteristics of Baroque style; he was undoubtedly the most important sculptor of the Baroque period. Though he is best

known as a sculptor, Bernini had also worked as an architect, painter, playwright, and stage craftsmen throughout his life and career. In the late 20th century, Bernini was most valued for his

sculpture, both for his technique in carving marble and his ability to create figures which easily mimicked his subjects and made

them more grandiose. Despite many of his sculptures being religious in nature, Bernini also sculpted bust portraits for many

powerful and wealthy figureheads.

Height: 17 inches

Bust of Giovanni Battista Santoni

He believed to be one of the artist's earliest works, the bust forms part of

a tomb for Santoni, who was majordomo to Pope Sixtus V from

1590 to 1592. The work was executed sometime between 1613 and 1616, although some have dated the work as early as 1609 (when Bernini was

ten years old), including Filippo Baldinucci. The work remains in its

original setting in the church of Santa Prassede in Rome.

Tomb of Pope Alexander (Chigi) VII1671 - 1678

The composition is similar to that of the other (Urban VIII) tomb, however, there some differences. In contrast with the

dominant figure of the Pope on the Urban tomb, the Pope here is a simple kneeling figure without any sign of his

office. Instead of two there are four allegoric figures, Charity, Prudence,

Justice and Truth. Below, there is a (real) door symbolizing the Gate of Death,

from which a sand-glass holding skeleton (the Death) raises the heavy

drapery.

Tomb of Pope Urban VIII

1627 - 1647The Tomb of Urban VIII emphasized the

pictorial aspects by employing a broad range of materials. The luminous effect of the bronze

used to cast the figure of the pope and the sarcophagus surmounted by the image of

Death recall the virtuosity of the Baldacchino columns. The design and colour of the

gleaming marble surfaces that decorate the niches are reminiscent of those used in the

crossing in St Peter's. It is almost as if in designing the pope's tomb, Bernini was

concerned to point out the main contributions that Urban had made to St Peter's.

St. Peter's Baldachin1623 - 1634

A large Baroque sculpted bronze canopy, technically called a ciborium or baldachin, over the high altar of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave surrounded by Rome, Italy. The baldachin is at the centre of the crossing and directly under the dome of the basilica. Designed by the Italian artist Gian

Lorenzo Bernini, it was intended to mark, in a monumental way, the place of Saint Peter's tomb

underneath. Under its canopy is the high altar of the basilica. Commissioned by Pope Urban VIII, the work began in 1623 and ended in 1634.[1] The baldachin acts as a visual focus within the basilica; it itself is a

very large structure and forms a visual mediation between the enormous scale of the building and the human scale of the people officiating at the religious

ceremonies at the papal altar beneath its canopy.

(Latin: Cathedra Petri), also known as “Throne of Saint Peter”, is a relic conserved in St. Peter's

Basilica, enclosed in a sculpted gilt bronze casing that was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and executed between 1647 and 1653. The name

derives from the Latin cathedra meaning chair or throne, which is used to denote the chair or seat of a bishop. The cathedra in St. Peter's Basilica

was once used by the popes. Inside the Chair is a wooden throne, which, according to tradition, was

used by Saint Peter. It was, however, actually a gift from Charles the Bald to Pope John VIII

Chair of Saint Peter 1647 – 1653

Jeff Koons  (January 21, 1955 - Present)

 American artist known for his reproductions of banal objects—such

as balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror-

finish surfaces. He lives and works in both New York City and his hometown

of York, Pennsylvania.

Michael Jackson and Bubbles

1988

The most well-known sculptures,

a pietà-inspired homage to the King of Pop and his favorite

monkey, in gilded porcelain.

THE END