Sculpture Is One of the Oldest and Most Enduring of All Arts

Ecstasy of Saint Teresa (1647-52)
Past Bernini.

Introduction

Any chronological account of the origins and evolution of 3-dimensional fine art should properly occupy several volumes, if non a whole library of books. Compressing information technology into a unmarried page means that most of the story is unavoidably omitted. Still, it's still a not bad story! From Prehistory, through Classical Artifact, the Gothic era, the Renaissance to the 21st century, the history of sculpture is filled with extraordinary artists - most sadly bearding - whose visual expressiveness remains with us in the course of wonderful marble statues, stone reliefs, and immortal bronzes.

Even today, visit any cathedral, or any of the neat cities, squares or buildings of the world, and you are sure to meet keen examples of three-D art.

The Burghers of Calais (1885-95)
By Auguste Rodin.

TYPES OF SCULPTURE
For bronzes - statues and reliefs,
come across: Statuary Sculpture.
For Pentelic, Parian, Carrara
stone, come across: Marble Sculpture.
For other similar forms of
carving, see: Rock Sculpture.
For sculptures in wood,
come across: Wood Carving.
For sculpting in dirt, meet:
Ceramic Sculpture.

Chronology of Fine Fine art Sculpture

Prehistoric Sculpture

Sculpture begins in the Stone Historic period. Exactly when, we don't know. The earliest known examples are the 2 primitive stone effigies known equally The Venus of Berekhat Ram and The Venus of Tan-Tan. The Venus of Berekhat Ram (dating from c.230,000 BCE or earlier) is a basaltic figurine made during the Acheulian Menstruation, which was discovered on the Golan Heights. The Venus of Tan-Tan (c.200,000 BCE or before) is a quartzite figurine from the same period.

If these objects are pre-sculptural forms, the earliest prehistoric sculpture proper emerged effectually 35,000 BCE in the form of carvings of animals, birds, and therianthropic figures, made during the Lower Perigordian/Aurignacian Period and discovered in the caves of Vogelherd, Hohle Fels, and Hohlenstein-Stadel, in the Swabian Jura, Frg. The primeval figurative sculpture is the ivory carving known as the Panthera leo Homo of the Hohlenstein Stadel (38,000 BCE).

World'Due south BEST SCULPTORS
For a listing of the height 100 3-D
artists (500 BCE - present),
run across: Greatest Sculptors.

MOVEMENTS, PERIODS, ARTISTS
For more information, see:
History of Art

FINE ART CHRONOLOGY
For details about the development
of Western painting and sculpture
run into: History of Fine art Timeline.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SCULPTURE
Equally well as being the nigh enduring
form of art, sculpture is certainly
the most influential. Historically,
nearly all Kings, Popes and tyrants
have recognized the propaganda
effect of inspirational sculpture.
Roman Emperors distributed portrait
busts of themselves to every corner
of their empire; the Roman Church building
busy their cathedrals, abbeys
and churches with tens of thousands
of statues and relief sculptures to
convey the message of the Bible;
Pharaohs, Kings and Emperors
from Ancient Egypt, Persia, Greece
and the modernistic world, have invested
fortunes in awe-inspiring sculpture
to commemorate success in battle.
Modernistic tyrants, from Stalin to Saddam
Hussein, take errected statues as
monuments to their glorious rule.
Of course nothing compares to the
inspirational message of America'southward
Statue of Freedom, probably the No 1
propagandist work of sculpture.
Likewise as having huge narrative
content capable of promoting a
specific message, sculpture is also
an arduous craft whose creators
are highly dependent on both tools,
technology. From the very earliest
tool-cultures of the Paleolithic era,
sculptural progress has been marked
by the discovery of new materials
and equipment. Amazingly, by the
nascence of Christ, almost of the sculptor'southward
traditional methods and techniques
had already been discovered,
including bronzework and the
refined goldsmithery practised
by nomadic tribes.
In any event, for all these reasons,
the history of sculpture is closely
linked with the politics, engineering science
and financial prosperity of society.
Above all, its history is inextricably
related to compages, the parent
fine art whose structures class such an
of import home for decorative
sculptural works. Every major
architectural movement has been
accompanied by huge demand for
sculptures of all kinds.

Globe'S GREATEST Art WORKS
For a list of masterpieces of
sculpture, past sculptors beyond the
ages, see: Greatest Sculptures Ever.

3-D ART APPRECIATION
For ii essays on plastic art
appreciation, please see:
How to Appreciate Sculpture
3-D art from Stone Age to 1850.
How to Appreciate Modern Sculpture
19th/20th century sculptors.

MEANING OF Fine art
For more about the unlike types,
styles and values of traditional and
contemporary visual art, run into:
Definition of Art.

Some other early type of Rock Age sculpture are the miniature obese figurines called Venuses: such as the Venuses of Willendorf, Kostenky, Monpazier, Dolni Vestonice, Moravany, Brassempouy, and Gagarino. Made from materials every bit varied every bit mammoth bone, ceramic clay and bone ash, also as various types of stone like steatite, oolitic limestone, serpentine, and volcanic rock, these venus figures have been located in sites across Europe, from Russia to Kingdom of spain. Anthropologists believe they may have been used in fertility rituals, although why fatty women should exist so iconic remains a mystery. (Lack of food? Ed).

Mesolithic Sculpture (c.ten,000-4,000 BCE)

Mesolithic art witnessed more bas-reliefs and free standing sculpture such as the anthropomorphic figurines unearthed in Nevali Cori and Gobekli Tepe nigh Urfa in eastern Turkey, and the statues of Lepenski Vir (eg. The Fish God) in Serbia. It also witnessed the creation of the Shigir Idol (7,500 BCE) - the world's oldest surviving wood carving - found nigh Sverdlovsk in Russian federation. Arguably the greatest Mesolithic work of art is the terracotta sculpture from Romania, known every bit The Thinker of Cernavoda, an unmistakable prototype of cognitive thought.

Neolithic Sculpture (c.4,000-two,000 BCE)

Neolithic art is noted above all for its pottery, simply it too featured complimentary standing sculpture and statuary statuettes - in item from the Indus Valley Culture, the Northward Caucasus and pre-Columbian art in the Americas. The most spectacular grade of Neolithic art was Egyptian pyramid architecture whose burial chambers led to an increased demand for various types of reliefs as well as portable statues and statuettes. (Run across Egyptian sculpture.) Indeed, the advent of the Statuary Historic period (In Europe: 3000-1200 BCE) as well as the emergence of cities and public buildings, and the development of more sophisticated tools, triggered a general increase in the demand for all types of art, including sculpture. See, for instance, Mesopotamian sculpture (3000-500). It was during this era that art began to assume a significant role in reflecting the aspirations of powerful rulers and the deities they worshipped. In brusque, prosperous and ambitious communities were good for sculpture.

Eastern Mediterranean Sculpture (c.2000-1100 BCE)

Following the flowering of architecture and other arts in Arab republic of egypt, the Levant as well witnessed the rise of the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete, which was noted for its sculpture and metalwork. Later an unknown catastrophe (probably earthquake) around 1500 BCE, the Minoan civilization collapsed, and Crete was conquered by the Myceneans from the Greek mainland, who were themselves overcome and the city of Mycenae destroyed around 1100 BCE.

Far Eastern Sculpture (c.1700 BCE - 1150 CE)

Chinese fine art during the Shang Dynasty (c.1600-1050) developed along quite different lines to Western varieties. For the finest statuary sculpture produced in China during this menstruation, see: Sanxingdui Bronzes (1200-m BCE). Famous examples of Indian and Southward-East Asian sculpture include the extraordinary reliefs at the 11th century Kandariya Mahadeva Hindu Temple (1017-29) in Madhya Pradesh, India; and the 12th century Angkor Wat Khmer Temple (1115-45) in Cambodia.

Sculpture of Classical Artifact (c.1100-100 BCE)

Due to the cultural stagnation of the Greek "Night Ages" (1100-900 BCE) and the predominance of pottery during the Geometric Menses (900-700 BCE), Greek sculpture did not actually announced until the Daedalic or Oriental-Manner Menses around 650 BCE. Thereafter it adult according to the traditional chronology of Greek fine art during classical artifact, as follows: Archaic Catamenia (c.650-500 BCE); Classical Period (c.500-323 BCE); and Hellenistic Catamenia (c.323-100 BCE). For more than, run across: Greek Sculpture Fabricated Simple.

Archaic Greek Sculpture (c.600-500 BCE)
The Archaic menstruum was a time of slow just continuous experimentation; the near prized form of Archaic Greek sculpture was the kouros (pl.kouroi), or standing male nude.

Classical Greek Sculpture (c.500-323 BCE)
Divided into the Early on Classical Catamenia, Loftier Classical Period and Belatedly Classical Period, this was the high point of Greek creativity. In the plastic arts, famous sculptors similar Polykleitos (fifth century BCE), Myron (Active 480-444 BCE), and Phidias (c.488-431 BCE) (meet his work at the Parthenon) achieved a level of realism - further adult by later on artists such as Callimachus (Active 432-408 BCE), Skopas (Active 395-350 BCE), Lysippos (c.395-305 BCE), Praxiteles (Active 375-335 BCE), and Leochares (Active 340-320 BCE) - which would remain unsurpassed until the Italian Renaissance.

Hellenistic Greek Sculpture (c.323-27 BCE)
During this catamenia (characterized by the spread of Greek culture throughout the civilized globe), classical realism was replaced past greater heroicism and expressionism. Run across: Pergamene School of Hellenistic Sculpture (241-133 BCE). Famous works of Hellenistic Greek sculpture include: Dying Gaul past Epigonus; the Winged Victory of Samothrace; Laocoon and His Sons by Hagesandrus, Polydorus and Athenodorus (42-20 BCE), and the Venus de Milo. For the greatest Hellenistic reliefs, see: Pergamon Altar of Zeus (166-56 BCE).

Despite the political and military demise of the Greek City States from around 200 BCE, and the consequent rise of Rome, Greek sculpture retained its status as the finest e'er made. Even the Romans failed to overcome their sense of inferiority in the face of Greek artistry, although they were cute enough to copy as many Greek works as possible, and it is largely through these copies that the art of Greek sculpture is known. The real influence of Hellenistic Statues and Reliefs actually occurred 1600-1700 years later when information technology was "rediscovered" by artists of the Early Renaissance in Italy, after which information technology formed the cornerstone of European art for the next iv centuries. In short, the Greeks become maximum points.

Celtic Metallic Sculpture (400-100 BCE)

Permit's not forget the Celts - a series of nomadic tribes which emerged from the Caucasus around 800 BCE, and gradually spread westwards across Europe (600-100 BCE) every bit far as the Iberian peninsula, Britain and Ireland. Although highly mobile, and masters of blacksmithery and goldsmithery, they were likewise disorganized to compete with the highly disciplined and centralized State of Rome. Somewhen wholly Romanized, at least on the Continent, their Celtic metalwork fine art included some of the finest metallic sculpture of the age (eg. the Broighter Boat c.100-50 BCE). They were also exceptional traders and their intricate metalwork designs were exported and imitated throughout the known globe. For stonework past the Celts, meet: Celtic Sculpture. For awe-inspiring Keltoi rock sculpture, encounter: the Turoe Stone.

World's Greatest Dirt Sculpture
The Terracotta Regular army (dating to 246-208 BCE), a huge collection of clay warriors and horses, was sculpted in Shaanxi province, Red china, nether the orders of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. Thousands of figures remain buried at the site. See also Chinese Buddhist Sculpture (100-present). For art in Republic of india, come across Indian sculpture (3300 BCE - 1850).

Roman Sculpture (c.200 BCE - c.200 CE)

Until about 27 BCE, despite the influence of earlier Etruscan sculptors - noted for their "joi de vivre" - Roman sculpture was unidealized and realistic; thereafter information technology became sternly heroic, and quite mediocre. It was designed in a higher place all to express the majesty and ability of Roman rule, thus bated from a number of magnificent historical reliefs (eg. the spiral bas-relief of Trajan's Column) and rare monuments (eg. the Ara Pacis Augustae), Roman sculptors were largely employed in the production of portrait busts of the Emperors and other dignitaries. In curt, no large deal.

Byzantine Sculpture (330-1450 CE)

Up until the fourth century, early on Christian sculpture had been nigh exclusively tomb reliefs for sarcophagi in Rome. When the Roman Empire divided into E and West, the Eastern capital was located in Constantinople. The fine art of the Eastern Roman Empire, based in Byzantium, was almost entirely religious, but, bated from some shallow ivory reliefs and goldsmithing, the Eastern Orthodox brand of Christianity did non permit 3-D artworks like statues or high reliefs. Good for painters, bad for sculptors.

Sculpture During The Dark Ages (c.500-800)

As the name suggests, this was a dark and quiet time for European sculptors. The Church was weak, the Barbarians (who weren't large into sculpture) were potent, and cities were impoverished and uncultured. There was some activity in Constantinople and on the fringes of Europe, for instance in Ireland, where (from 800-1100) the monastic church began commissioning a number of freestanding stone crosses known as Celtic High Cantankerous sculptures - decorated with Gospel scenes and other Celtic-style patterns - simply little medieval art was created on the Continent.

Note Most Sculpture and Compages

Before proceeding, information technology is worth emphasizing the key connectedness between public architecture or edifice programs, and sculpture. In unproblematic terms, public buildings typically needed sculptural decoration, both inside and out. Supporting columns often incorporated decorative motifs or statues and reliefs, as did facades, doorways and various interior screens. Thus each new major program of public works - typically heralded past a new style of compages - triggered a huge parallel program of sculpture. In short, Medieval sculptors loved architects.

Early Romanesque Sculpture (Carolingian, Ottonian) (c.800-1050)

The revival of medieval sculpture began with Charlemagne I, Male monarch of the Franks, who was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800. The Carolingian empire dissolved quite chop-chop but Charlemagne's patronage of the arts was a crucial get-go step in the revitalization of European culture, non to the lowest degree because many of the Romanesque and Gothic churches were built on the foundations of Carolingian architecture. Charlemagne'due south architectural achievements were connected by the Holy Roman Emperors Otto I, Ii and Three, in a style known as Ottonian. So the fine art of sculpture was back, albeit on a modest scale. See as well: Medieval Artists.

Romanesque Sculpture (c.1000-1200)

In the 11th century, a more confident Christian Church began to reassert itself. This doctrinal expansionism led to the Crusades to gratis the Holy Land from the grip of Islam. The Crusaders' success and their conquering of Holy Relics triggered the construction of new churches and cathedrals across Europe in the fully fledged Romanesque manner of compages - a style known in Uk and Ireland as "Norman" compages. This in turn led to a huge wave of commissions for Romanesque sculpture and stained glass. Thus finally, the art of sculpting was dorsum. And with this new demand for plastic art came the establishment of new carving and modelling workshops, apprenticeships, and recognition for primary-craftsmen. Indeed, by the 12th century the leading sculptors became highly sought-after past Abbots, Archbishops and other secular patrons, for their unique contribution to the visual impact of the religious buildings nether construction.

Famous Romanesque Sculptors:
Gislebertus (12th century)
Chief of Cabestany (twelfth century)
Master Mateo (12th century)
Benedetto Antelami (active 1178-1196)

Gothic Sculpture (c.1150-1300)

The Church building's building program stimulated the development of new architectural techniques. These techniques came together during the mid-late twelfth century in a mode which Renaissance architects afterward dubbed "Gothic compages". Characteristic Romanesque-style features such as rounded arches, massively thick walls and modest windows and were replaced past pointed arches, soaring ceilings, thin walls and huge stained glass windows. This completely transformed the interior of many cathedrals into inspirational havens, where the Christian mesage was conveyed in a variety of Biblical art, including beautiful stained glass windows, and by a wide diverseness of sculpture. Cathedral facades and doorways were typically filled with sculptural reliefs depicting Biblical scenes, also as rows of sculptures portraying Prophets, Apostles, ancient Kings of Judea, and other gospel figures. Interiors featured column statues and more reliefs, the whole thing being laid out according to an intricate plan of gospel iconography designed to educate and inspire illiterate worshippers.

In essence, the Gothic cathedral was intended to represent the Universe in miniature - a unique slice of Christian art designed to convey a sense of God's power and celebrity and the rational ordered nature of his worldly plan. Among the greatest homes of Gothic architectural sculpture are the French cathedrals of Notre Dame de Paris, Chartres, Reims, and Amiens; the German cathedrals of Cologne, Strasbourg and Bamberg, and the English churches of Westminster Abbey and York Minster - among many others. In summary, Gothic sculpture represented the high-point of awe-inspiring religious art. Although the Church would continue to invest heavily in the power of painting and sculpture to inspire the masses (notably in the Counter Reformation Baroque period), the Gothic era was really the apogee of "idealistic" religious artistry. Henceforth, the art of sculpture would become more than and more than enmeshed in secular as well as Papal politics.

Famous Gothic Sculptors:
Nicola Pisano (c.1206-1278)
Giovanni Pisano (c.1250-1314)
Arnolfo di Cambio (c.1240–1310)
Giovanni di Balduccio (c.1290–1339)
Andrea Pisano (1295-1348)
Filippo Calendario (pre-1315-1355)
Andre Beauneveu (c.1335-1400)
Claus Sluter (c.1340-1406)

See also: English Gothic Sculpture and German Gothic Sculpture.

Italian Renaissance Sculpture (c.1400-1600)

The Italian Renaissance was inspired past the "rediscovery" of, and reverence for, the arts of Classical Antiquity, especially in the field of compages and sculpture. Renaissance art was also coloured by a potent belief in Humanism and the nobility of Human being. It began in Florence, being inspired by individuals such as the architect Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446), the sculptor Donatello (1386-1466), the painter Tommaso Masaccio and the theorist Leon Battista Alberti (1404-72), and financed by the Medici Family. It and then spread to Rome - where it received support from the Papal ambitions of Pope Sixtus Iv (1471-84), Pope Julius Ii (1503-13), Pope Leo X (1513-21) and Pope Paul III (1534-45) - and Venice. The arts in Northern Europe (notably Flemish region, Holland, Frg and England) also underwent a renaissance, peculiarly in oil painting, printmaking and to a bottom extent wood-etching, although this so-called Northern Renaissance developed somewhat independently due to the Reformation (c.1520) and the consequent lack of religious patronage from a Protestant Church building that took a dim view of religious painting and sculpture.

Early Renaissance Sculpture (1400-xc)

Given the respect accorded to the Italian Renaissance, it'due south easy to forget that many Italian artists were strongly influenced by Gothic traditions and craftsmanship. Renaissance sculptors, in particular, were indebted to their Gothic predecessors. One need only study the reliefs on the facades and doorways of twelfth century cathedrals to see the extraordinary iii-dimensional realism and emotionalism which was existence achieved centuries before the Renaissance. The big difference betwixt Gothic and Renaissance sculptors is that the names of the latter are at present world-famous, while many of the former are unknown.

Bearing this in heed, Early Renaissance sculptors sought to improve further on Gothic works, taking much of their inspiration from Classical Roman and Greek sculpture. In so doing, they injected their statues with a range of emotion and imbued them with new free energy and thought. The 3 greatest iii-D artists of the Early Renaissance were Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455), Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi, known every bit Donatello, and Andrea del Verrocchio (1435-88).

Lorenzo Ghiberti

In 1401, a competition was held for the commission to create a pair of bronze doors for the Florence Baptistry of St. John - i of the oldest surviving churches in the urban center. Lorenzo Ghiberti duly won the commission for the doors, which took him 27 years to finish. A second similar commission followed, occupying Ghiberti for a further 25 years. However, his gates became a tangible symbol of Florentine art, causing Michelangelo to refer to them "the Gates of Paradise".

Donatello

Donatello, the first real genius of Italian Renaissance Sculpture, reinvented the medium of sculpture in much the same way as Masaccio, Piero della Francesca and Mantegna revolutionized the art of painting. Capable of investing his figures with intense realism and emotion, his masterpiece is his bronze sculpture David (c.1435-53), the first life-size nude sculpture since Antiquity, which was created for the Medici family and sited in the Palazzo Medici in Florence. The slender form of the Biblical shepherd male child seems hardly capable of the homicidal skill required to slay Goliath, but both his pensive feminine pose with its Classical contrapposto (twist of the hips), exerts a hypnotic event on the viewer. It must surely be one of the greatest statues always created. For details, encounter: David by Donatello.

Andrea del Verrocchio

The David (c.1475) past Andrea del Verrocchio is more refined but less intense than Donatello's statue, while his equestrian statue of the condottiere Bartolommeo Colleoni (1480s) is less heroic only conveys a greater sense of movement and swagger than Donatello'due south Gattamelata (1444-53) in Padua.

Other important sculptors of the early on Renaissance include: Jacopo della Quercia (c.1374-1438); Nanni di Banco (c.1386-1421); the terracotta sculptors Luca Della Robbia (1400-1482), his nephew Andrea Della Robbia (1435-1525), Niccolo Dell'Arca (1435-94) and Guido Mazzoni (1450-1518); Antonio Rossellino (1427-79); Antonio Pollaiuolo (1432-98).

High Renaissance Sculpture (c.1490-1530)

Renaissance sculptors were dominated by Michelangelo (1475-1564), the greatest sculptor of the Italian Renaissance, and arguably of all time. The art historian Anthony Blunt said of Michelangelo's works similar Pieta (1497-9, marble, Saint Peters Basilica, Rome), David (1501-4, marble, Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence) and Dying Slave (1513-16, marble, Louvre, Paris) that they possessed a "superhuman quality" merely also "a feeling of brooding, of sombre disquiet... they reflect the tragedy of human destiny." Some of Michelangelo'south marble carvings accept a flawless beauty and smoothen, testifying to his accented technical mastery. In the field of the heroic male person nude he remains the supreme exponent. For more, see David past Michelangelo.

Other of import sculptors of the Loftier Renaissance include the artist and Venetian architect Jacopo Sansovino (1486-1570) and Baccio Bandinelli (1493-1560).

Northern Renaissance Sculpture (c.1400-1530)

In Northern Europe, the art of sculpture was exemplified in particular past ii crawly craftsmen who took the fine art of sculpting in woods to new heights: the German language limewood sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider (1460-1531), noted for his reliefs and freestanding wood sculpture; and the wood-carver Veit Stoss (1450-1533) renowned for his fragile altarpieces.

Other important sculptors from North of the Alps include:
Hans Multscher (c.1400-1467); Giorgio da Sebenico (1410-1473);
Michel Colombe (c.1430-1512); Gregor Erhart (c.1460-1540).

Mannerist Sculpture (1530-1600)

If the confidence and order of the High Renaissance period was reflected in its idealised forms of figurative sculpture, Mannerist sculpture reflected the chaos and uncertainty of a Europe racked by religious partition and a Rome recently sacked and occupied by mercenary French soldiers. Mannerist sculptors introduced a new expressiveness into their works, every bit exemplified past the powerful Rape of the Sabines by Giambologna (1529-1608), and Perseus (1545-54) by Benvenuto Cellini (1500-71). Even so, compare the famous naturalistic recumbent marble statue of Saint Cecilia by Stefano Maderno (1576-1636). Encounter besides Juan de Juni (1507-1577), who spread the Renaissance to Spain, Alonso Berruguete (c.1486-1561) who introduced Mannerism to Spain, and Francesco Primaticcio (1504-1570) who launched Mannerism in French republic. For the acme French Mannerist sculptors, see: Jean Goujon (c.1510-68), Germain Pilon (1529-1590), Barthelemy Prieur (1536-1611) and Adriaen de Vries (1560-1626).

Baroque Sculpture (c.1600-1700)

During the later 16th century, in response to the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church building launched its ain Counter Reformation. This propaganda campaign, designed to persuade worshippers to return to the "true" Church, employed the total panoply of the visual arts, including architecture, sculpture and painting, and became associated with a grander, more dramatic idiom known equally Baroque art. It entailed massive patronage for artists - expert news for sculptors!

Even Saint Peter's Square in Rome, was remodelled in order to awe visitors. The genius architect/sculptor Bernini (1598-1680) designed a series of colonnades leading to the cathedral, which gave the impression to visitors that they were existence embraced by the arms of the Cosmic Church.

Bernini was the greatest of all Baroque sculptors. Subsequently working for Primal Scipione Borghese, he became the leading sculptor for Pope Urban VIII. Fatigued to the dramatic naturalism of what is called the Hellenistic baroque style of the second and kickoff century BCE, (eg. run into works like The Vanquished Gaul Killing Himself and his Wife) Bernini's unique contribution was to create sensational illusionistic masterpieces (eg. by depicting a moment in time), in a manner hitherto just achieved by painters. It was equally if he treated the relatively intractable materials of sculpture as if they were entirely malleable. His sculptural technique and composition were so stunning that he attracted no little criticism from envious rivals.

His master rival was Alessandro Algardi (1598-1654), the favourite sculptor of Pope Innocent X. If Bernini epitomized Greek dramatic naturalism, Algardi's style was more restrained (critics say feeble). Another rival was the Flemish sculptor Francois Duquesnoy (1594-1643) whose manner was entirely classical. Duquesnoy was rather a shadowy figure who worked in a severe, unemotional style which was nevertheless highly regarded by academic writers for its perfect synthesis of nature and the antiquarian. The draperies menses elegantly, post-obit the shape of the torso, while the figure is counterbalanced in perfect grace and repose - the complete contrary of Bernini's dynamic movement and intense feeling.

French Baroque sculpture was exemplified by Francois Girardon (1628-1715), a sort of French Algardi, and his rival Antoine Coysevox (1640-1720) whose looser fashion was still relatively restrained compared to Bernini, and Pierre Puget (1620-94) who was one of the very few sculptors to recapture the immediacy of Bernini's best work.

Other Baroque sculptors include: Juan Martines Montanes (1568-1649), Alonzo Cano (Granada, 1601-67), and Andreas Schluter (1664-1714), the greatest Baroque sculptor in Northern Frg. In Southern Federal republic of germany, one of the greatest masters was Jorg Zurn (1583-1638), who produced the awesome v-storey Loftier Altar of the Virgin Mary (1613-16), in the Church of Saint Nicholas at Uberlingen, on the northern shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee).

For more, come across: Baroque Sculpture.

Rococo Sculpture (c.1700-1789)

Basically a French reaction confronting the seriousness of the Baroque, Rococo fine art began in the French court at the Palace of Versailles before spreading across Europe. If Bizarre sculpture was dramatic and serious, Rococo was all frills and no substance, although in reality it was not so much a different style from the Baroque but rather a variation on the style brought to fruition by Bernini and his contemporaries. However, one can talk about Rococo qualities in a work of sculpture - informality, gaiety, a concern for matters of the heart and a self-conscious avoidance of seriousness.

The nigh successful sculptor of the start half of the 18th century was Guillaume Coustou (1677-1746), Manager of the French University from 1707, who continued the baroque tendency of his uncle Coysevox. His pupil, Edme Bouchardon (1698-1762), is a more than interesting figure. whose feeling for the antique led him to conceptualize the afterwards trend towards neoclassicism.
Jean-Baptiste Pigalle (1714-85), a favourite of Madame de Pompadour, was another important exemplar of the Rococo style as was his chief rival was Etienne-Maurice Falconet (1716-91) who specialized in erotic figures that have a tenuous derivation from Hellenistic originals. His masterpiece, all the same, remains his classical "Bronze Horseman" monument to Peter the Corking in St Petersburg - see Russian Sculpture.

In England, the leading sculptors of the 17th/18th century included the classicist Michael Rysbrack (1694-1770), the more theatrical Louis Francois Roubiliac (1705-62), and the eminent wood-carver Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721). German Rococo sculpture was exemplified in works by the Dresden sculptor Balthazar Permoser (1651-1732), small groups of craftsmen working in the churches of Catholic southern Germany, and Ignaz Gunther (1725-75) whose figurative sculptures accept a hard surface realism and polychromed surface reminiscent of medieval High german woods-carving.

Whimsical corrupt Rococo was swept abroad past the French Revolution which ushered in the new sterner style of Neoclassicism.

Neoclassical Sculpture (Flourished c.1790-1830)

Neoclassical fine art - basically Greek art with a mod twist - was dominated by Neoclassical architecture. Neoclassical buildings include the Pantheon (Paris), the Arc de Triomphe (Paris), the Brandenburg Gate (Berlin), and the United States Capitol Building. Neoclassical sculpture involved an accent on the virtues of heroicism, duty and gravitas. Leading Neoclassical sculptors included the exceedingly severe and heroic Antonio Canova (1757-1822), the troubled portrait-bust master Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (1736-1783), the more naturalistic/realist Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828), the rather light-hearted Claude Michel called Clodion (1738-1814), and the English sculptors Joseph Nollekens (1737-1823), Thomas Banks (1735-1805), John Flaxman (1755-1826), and Sir Richard Westmacott (1775-1856). Only later in the 18th century did a worthy successor to Canova appear in the person of the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorwaldsen (1770-1844), who approached the antique with a comparable high-mindedness albeit with less originality.

19th Century Sculpture

In many means, the nineteenth century was an age of crunch for sculpture. In simple terms, architectural development had largely exhausted itself, religious patronage had declined every bit a outcome of the French Revolution, and the general climate of "populism", began to crusade much confusion in the minds of institutional and private patrons every bit to what constituted acceptable subjects (and styles) for sculptural representation. Beingness involved in a more than expensive art-form than painters, and thus dependent on high-cost commissions, sculptors often institute themselves at the mercy of public opinion in the grade of boondocks councils and committees. Aside from a number of grandiose public monuments, and the usual commemorative statues of Bishops and Kings - invariably executed in the sterile, conformist style required by the authorities (eg. the Albert Memorial) - sculptors had few opportunities to showcase their originality. Painting on the other hand was undergoing huge and exciting changes. In short, information technology was not a great time to be involved in 3-D art.

Nineteenth century sculptors worth a mention include the versatile James Pradier (1790-1852), the romantics Francois Rude (1784-1855), David d'Angers (1788-1856), Antoine-Louis Barye (1796-1875), and Auguste Preault (1809-79), and the Florentine Neo-Renaissance sculptress Felicie de St Fauveau (1799-1886). One of the most talented artists was the light-hearted Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827-75), whose sensuality was adapted to the demands of decorative sculptors of the 1860s past Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (1824-87), otherwise most noted for the fact that ane of his pupils was an unknown sculptor called Auguste Rodin. Jules Dalou (1838-1902) was a more contemplative and serious follower of Carpeaux. Among the 19th century classicists, leading figures included John Gibson (1791-1866), the talented but frustrated Alfred Stevens (1817-75), the versatile George Frederick Watts (1817-1904), and the American Hiram Powers (1805-73).

We should too non forget the imaginative French sculptor Auguste Bartholdi (1834-1904) - better known as the creator of the world-famous sculpture - The Statue of Freedom - in New York harbour. Also the great monumental American sculptor Daniel Chester French (1850-1931), noted for the seated figure of Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.

Auguste Rodin

The dandy exception was the incomparable French genius Auguste Rodin (1840-1917). One of the few authentic masters of mod sculpture, Rodin saw himself as the successor to his iconic hero Michelangelo - although the Florentine was a carver in marble while Rodin was principally a modeller in Bronze. Also, while Michelangelo exemplifies the noble and timeless forms of Classical Antiquity, Rodin'due south virtually characteristic works convey an unmistakable modernity and dramatic naturalism. Arguably, Rodin's true predecessors were the Gothic sculptors, for he was a passionate admirer of the Gothic cathedrals of France, from whose heroic reliefs he derived much of his inspiration. In any event, Rodin'southward impact on his fine art form was greater than any sculptor since the Renaissance.

20th Century Sculpture: The Advent of Modernism

With sculpture less able to reverberate the new trends of modern fine art during the 19th century, leaving artists similar Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) free to pursue a monumentalism derived essentially from Renaissance credo, and others to celebrate Victorian values in the form of patriotic and historical figures, too executed in the grand manner of before times, information technology wasn't until the emergence of modern 20th century sculptors like Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957), Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916) and Naum Gabo (Naum Neemia Pevsner) (1890-1977), that sculpture really began to change, at the plow of the century. For the influence of tribal cultures on the development of 20th century sculpture, see: Primitivism/Archaic Art. In this regard see the work of Henri Gaudier-Brzeska (1891-1915) and his mentor Jacob Epstein (1880-1959). In particular, notation the touch of African sculpture on modern sculptors of the Ecole de Paris.

In fact, the early decades of the 20th century saw fine art in a ferment. The revolutionary Cubism movement, invented by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and Georges Braque (1882-1963), smashed many of the hallowed canons of traditional fine art, and triggered a wave of experimentation in both painting and sculpture. The latter was significantly redefined by a series of sculptors like Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) - encounter his "readymades" - Jacques Lipchitz (1891-1973), and Alexander Archipenko (1887-1964), every bit well as Brancusi, Boccioni and Gabo. Representationalism was rejected in favour of new abstract expressions of infinite and movement, often using non-traditional materials never before used in sculpture.

In the wake of Cubism, The Great War (1914-18) and the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution had a further huge impact on artists across Europe, as exemplified in the influential iconoclastic movements of Dada and Constructivism. Sculptors joined painters in producing works of art reflecting new icons like the motorcar, likewise as new ideologies of pattern (eg. Bauhaus blueprint schoolhouse theories), and course (eg. the incredible Merzbau of Kurt Schwitters).

The 1920s in Paris saw the emergence of Surrealism, a hugely influential motion which sought a new "super-realism" in a mode which embraced both abstraction and naturalism. Famous surrealist artists working in 3-D include: Salvador Dali (1904-89) who produced his surrealist Mae West Lips Sofa and Lobster Telephone; Meret Oppenheim (1913-85) who created Furry Breakfast; and Iron McWilliam (1909-1992) who produced Eyes, Nose and Cheek. Other modern sculptors like Jean Arp (1886-1966) as well as Henry Moore (1898-1986) and Barbara Hepworth (1903-75) - leaders of modern British sculpture - were experimenting with new forms of biomorphic/organic brainchild, while the American Alexander Calder (1898-1976) was pioneering mobile sculpture and kinetic art, and David Smith (1906-65) was developing abstract metal sculpture. Many sculptors developed their style equally the century progressed: Alberto Giacometti (1901-66), for instance, began in surrealist mode during the 1920s and 1930s before perfecting his unique semi-abstruse figurative works. See besides the modernist British-American creative person Jacob Epstein (1880–1959), whose bold figurative works proved highly controversial.

Post-War Sculpture (1945-70)

No sculpture emerged in New York or Paris to compare with the predominant painting style of Abstract Expressionism (c.1945-62), although innovation there certainly was, chiefly in the use of new materials and a growing mood of conceptualism - a style which focuses on the idea behind the three-D object, rather than the object itself - as well as a blurring between painting and sculpture. Major innovations - generally by American sculptors, but see Destroyed Urban center (1953) past the Russian sculptor Ossip Zadkine (1890-1967) - included the "sculptured walls" of Louise Nevelson (1899-1988) - assemblages composed of constitute objects, mostly wood, sprayed in white, black or gold paint and arranged in box-like shelves occupying a wall; the felt sculptures of Robert Morris (b.1931); the neon and fluorescent works of Bruce Nauman (b.1941); the works of Cesar (1921-98) made from car-parts; the junk sculptures (eg. heaps of broken telephones) of Arman (Armand Fernandez) (b.1928); the kinetic fine art of Jean Tinguely (1925-1991) and the abstract sculpture of the British artist Sir Anthony Caro (1924-2013).

Pop-Art Sculpture

Chronologically, the first major post-war movement involving sculptors, was 1960s Pop-Art, which originated in the pioneering work of Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008) and Jasper Johns (b.1930) during the 1950s. Famous Pop sculptures include: Japanese War God (1958) by the pioneer Eduardo Paolozzi (b.1924), Ale Cans (1964) by Jasper Johns, the canvas, foam rubber and cardboard Floor Burger (1962) and Giant Fag-Ends (1967) by Claes Oldenburg (b.1929), and the witty Joe Sofa (1968) by the Italians Jonathan De Pas (1932-91), Donato D'Urbino (b.1935) and Paolo Lomazzi (b.1936) - all showing traces of earlier surrealist art. Pop sculpture isn't serious but it's great fun.

Minimalist Sculpture

In complete contrast to Pop fine art, 1960s Minimalism explored the purity of ultra-simplified forms to the point of absurdity. Famous Minimalist sculptors include Sol LeWitt (b.1928) - the American conceptual artist noted for his skeletal, geometric box-like constructions; the uncompromising simplified forms of Donald Judd (1928-94); the experimental artist Walter de Maria (b.1935); and the Massachusetts-born Carl Andre (b.1935). Minimalist sculpture can exist fully appreciated by anyone with a PhD in Fine Art Interpretation.

Land Art: Ecology Sculpture

The 1960s as well witnessed a completely new type of sculpture known as Land Art (Earthworks, or Environmental fine art). Like kids edifice sand castles on the beach, artists rushed out into the wilds and dug, excavated and re-shaped the natural mural to create (what they hoped was) art. The pioneer environmental sculptor was the pessimistic Robert Smithson (1938-73). Latterly, the creative person-couple Christo and Jeanne-Claude Javacheff take achieved fame past wrapping parts of the environment in coloured textile, while Andy Goldsworthy (b.1956) specializes in temporary environmental sculptures (eg. made of snow) that decompose or disappear.

Postmodernist Contemporary Sculpture

By 1970, an increasing corporeality of contemporary art was becoming extremely experimental - art critics might say wacky, incomprehensible and kitsch-like. From the 1970s onwards, this tendency was christened "Postmodernist art". Nobody actually knows what this word means, and, if they practise, they can't explicate it. As far as postmodernist sculpture is concerned, the best one can say is that it takes sculpture to the limit of three-dimensional expression, and frequently crosses over into other art-forms similar installation, pure aggregation art and even theatre. One of the most famous postmodernist sculptors is the Indian-born British Turner Prize Winner Anish Kapoor (b.1954).

Damien Hirst

Postmodernism is exemplified by the works of Damien Hirst (b.1965), the ingenious, market-driven leader of the 1980s Young British Artists motion, who achieved earth-wide fame for The Concrete Impossibility of Death in the Listen of Someone Living (1991), a dead Tiger shark pickled in a tank of formaldehyde - Is it a sculpture or installation? Nobody really knows. Other controversial works by Hirst include: Virgin Mother (2005) a huge work depicting a meaning female human, cut away to display the fetus, muscle tissue and attic; and his diamond encrusted skull For the Beloved of God (2007). Critics claim Hirst is no more than than a very innovative showman, simply collectors - also equally the public - seem to love him. Allow history have the terminal say on this multi-millionaire artist.

Non all contemporary sculpture is controversial as Hirst's dead shark. The late-20th century has witnessed a number of exceptional sculptors working in more or less traditional modes, albeit with a modernist formulation. Famous examples of contemporary sculpture include: the large scale metal sculptures of Mark Di Suvero (b.1933), the monumental public forms of Richard Serra (b.1939), the hyper-realist figures of Duane Hanson (1925-96) and John De Andrea (b.1941), the environmental structures of Antony Gormley (b.1950), the fabulous realist figures of Rowan Gillespie (b.1953), the innovative Neo-Popular works of Jeff Koons (b.1955), and the surrealist Maman spider sculptures of Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010).

Acclaimed sculptures of the early 21st century include works past Eduardo Chillida (1924-2002) (eg. the iron piece Berlin, 2000, Bundeskanzleramt, Berlin-Tiergarten); past Sudobh Gupta (b.1964) and Damian Ortega (b.1967), among others besides numerous to mention.

See as well: Irish gaelic Sculpture.

Architectural Sculpture

Although outside the scope of this article, mention should exist made of swell iconic works of architectural sculpture, including: The Colossus of Rhodes, The Statue of Liberty, The Eiffel Tower, Nelson's Cavalcade, The Chicago Picasso, and The Dublin Spike, amidst others.

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Source: http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/sculpture-history.htm

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