The slender form of the Biblical shepherd boy 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 effect on the viewer. It must surely be one of the greatest statues ever created. For details, see: David by Donatello. The David c. Other important sculptors of the early Renaissance include: Jacopo della Quercia c.
Renaissance sculptors were dominated by Michelangelo , the greatest sculptor of the Italian Renaissance, and arguably of all time. The art historian Anthony Blunt said of Michelangelo's works like Pieta , marble, Saint Peters Basilica, Rome , David , marble, Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence and Dying Slave , marble, Louvre, Paris that they possessed a "superhuman quality" but also "a feeling of brooding, of sombre disquiet In the field of the heroic male nude he remains the supreme exponent.
For more, see David by Michelangelo. Other important sculptors of the High Renaissance include the artist and Venetian architect Jacopo Sansovino and Baccio Bandinelli In Northern Europe, the art of sculpture was exemplified in particular by two awesome craftsmen who took the art of sculpting in wood to new heights: the German limewood sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider , noted for his reliefs and freestanding wood sculpture; and the wood-carver Veit Stoss renowned for his delicate altarpieces.
Other important sculptors from North of the Alps include: Hans Multscher c. 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 division and a Rome recently sacked and occupied by mercenary French soldiers. Mannerist sculptors introduced a new expressiveness into their works, as exemplified by the powerful Rape of the Sabines by Giambologna , and Perseus by Benvenuto Cellini However, compare the famous naturalistic recumbent marble statue of Saint Cecilia by Stefano Maderno For the top French Mannerist sculptors, see: Jean Goujon c.
Baroque Sculpture c. During the later 16th century, in response to the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church launched its own Counter Reformation. This propaganda campaign, designed to persuade worshippers to return to the "true" Church, employed the full panoply of the visual arts, including architecture, sculpture and painting, and became associated with a grander, more dramatic idiom known as Baroque art.
It entailed massive patronage for artists - good news for sculptors! Even Saint Peter's Square in Rome, was remodelled in order to awe visitors. Bernini was the greatest of all Baroque sculptors. Drawn to the dramatic naturalism of what is called the Hellenistic baroque style of the second and first century BCE, eg.
It was as 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. If Bernini epitomized Greek dramatic naturalism, Algardi's style was more restrained critics say feeble. Another rival was the Flemish sculptor Francois Duquesnoy whose style 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 antique.
The draperies flow elegantly, following the shape of the body, while the figure is balanced in perfect grace and repose - the complete opposite of Bernini's dynamic movement and intense feeling. French Baroque sculpture was exemplified by Francois Girardon , a sort of French Algardi, and his rival Antoine Coysevox whose looser style was still relatively restrained compared to Bernini, and Pierre Puget who was one of the very few sculptors to recapture the immediacy of Bernini's best work.
For more, see: Baroque Sculpture. Rococo Sculpture c. Basically a French reaction against the seriousness of the Baroque, Rococo art began in the French court at the Palace of Versailles before spreading across Europe.
If Baroque 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. Even so, 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 most successful sculptor of the first half of the 18th century was Guillaume Coustou , Director of the French Academy from , who continued the baroque trend of his uncle Coysevox. His pupil, Edme Bouchardon , is a more interesting figure. Jean-Baptiste Pigalle , a favourite of Madame de Pompadour, was another important exemplar of the Rococo style as was his chief rival was Etienne-Maurice Falconet who specialized in erotic figures that have a tenuous derivation from Hellenistic originals.
German Rococo sculpture was exemplified in works by the Dresden sculptor Balthazar Permoser , small groups of craftsmen working in the churches of Catholic southern Germany, and Ignaz Gunther whose figurative sculptures have a hard surface realism and polychromed surface reminiscent of medieval German wood-carving.
Whimsical decadent Rococo was swept away by the French Revolution which ushered in the new sterner style of Neoclassicism. Neoclassical Sculpture Flourished c. Neoclassical art - basically Greek art with a modern twist - was dominated by Neoclassical architecture. Neoclassical sculpture involved an emphasis on the virtues of heroicism, duty and gravitas. Only later in the 18th century did a worthy successor to Canova appear in the person of the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorwaldsen , who approached the antique with a comparable high-mindedness albeit with less originality.
In many ways, the nineteenth century was an age of crisis for sculpture. In simple terms, architectural development had largely exhausted itself, religious patronage had declined as a result of the French Revolution, and the general climate of "populism", began to cause much confusion in the minds of institutional and private patrons as to what constituted acceptable subjects and styles for sculptural representation.
Being involved in a more expensive art-form than painters, and thus dependent on high-cost commissions, sculptors often found themselves at the mercy of public opinion in the form of town 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. Painting on the other hand was undergoing huge and exciting changes.
In short, it was not a great time to be involved in 3-D art. One of the most talented artists was the light-hearted Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux , whose sensuality was adapted to the demands of decorative sculptors of the s by Ernest Carrier-Belleuse , otherwise most noted for the fact that one of his pupils was an unknown sculptor called Auguste Rodin. Jules Dalou was a more contemplative and serious follower of Carpeaux.
Among the 19th century classicists, leading figures included John Gibson , the talented but frustrated Alfred Stevens , the versatile George Frederick Watts , and the American Hiram Powers We should also not forget the imaginative French sculptor Auguste Bartholdi - better known as the creator of the world-famous sculpture - The Statue of Liberty - in New York harbour.
The great exception was the incomparable French genius Auguste Rodin One of the few authentic masters of modern 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's most 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. Wire sawing machine being used at a rock quarry. Marble quarry. Anton Grassi, Family of Archduke Leopold , , porcelain. The Thinker detail. Auguste Rodin in his studio with his famous piece, The Thinker, Post Views: 24, November 3, August 25, Marlene Cowan This is an excellent review of major pieces in art history.
August 30, Best of luck and happy sculpting! Ashleigh Reply. Leave a Comment Note: by leaving a comment, you indicate your agreement with our Terms of Service. Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Drawing Essentials 2. Learning To Trust Your Eyes 3. Value And Gesture 4.
Thinking In Space 5. Value And Mass 6. Two-Point Perspective 7. Cylinders And Cones 8. Measuring 9. Forms Into Objects Composition For Beginners Fabric And Drapery Still Life Practice Acrylic Palettes 5. Acrylic Surfaces 6. Acrylic Paintbrushes 7. Basic Color Theory 8. Color Illusions And Themes 9. Ready To Start Painting: Acrylics Acrylic Painting Exercise Two: Lemon Acrylic Painting Exercise Three: Cherry Safety In Oils 3.
Oil Palettes 6. Oil Surfaces 7. Oil Paintbrushes 8. Oil Painting Methods And Techniques 9. Basic Color Theory Color Illusions And Themes Ready To Start Painting: Oils Oil Painting Exercise Two: Apple Oil Painting Exercise Three: Landscape Watercolor Palettes 5. Watercolor Paper And Other Surfaces 6.
Watercolor Brushes 7. Watercolor Techniques 8. Basic Color Theory 9. Ready To Start Painting: Watercolors Watercolor Painting Exercise One: Lemon Using a technique that involves ultraviolet light, it has also just recently become known that most Greek sculpture was, apparently, typically painted in bright colors.
Until AD, the Roman Empire was largely polytheistic. Sculptured works were generally intended to honour a variety of different Gods or members of nobility. Then, in AD, Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion, and we start to see a shift in the subject matter of popular sculpture. Giant statues became less common, and portraiture began to dominate the field of Roman sculpture. The Gothic era expanded on the religious sculptures of the early medieval period and the figures on churches became more elaborate.
Prominent Biblical figures were shown in very high relief sculptures, which were often situated, free-standing, around the church. By the beginning of the 15th century, the Renaissance ushered in an eclectic study of the humanities, including science, astronomy, and mathematics.
Artists began to revisit the thoughtful and dignified perfection of Classical times. The invention of the printing press propagated these ideas, and artists began to show more interest in a scientific approach to reality. The Renaissance masters, including Donatello, Michelangelo , Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci, were figureheads of the times.
Donatello was an Italian sculptor who worked in Florence in the mid 15th century. Leonardo da Vinci was a student of Donatello. And one of the most famous artists of all time, Michelangelo, was born in She added the skirt-like drapery to the female figure to satisfy a request of the Minister of Fine Arts in the hopes that her commission for a marble version for the state would not be revoked. She saw the double standard in this, as most sculptures of nudes made by male artists were not rejected by the state.
She was able to retain the commission, but she never completed the marble. The figures in The Waltz are intertwined and, like many of her sculptures, are full of movement, sinuous lines, and grace. Claudel began The Waltz in , the year she met the composer Claude Debussy. Debussy received a cast of The Waltz that he kept on his mantelpiece, and his music may have been a source for the subject of the sculpture.
While Edgar Degas — is normally associated with the Impressionist movement, his sculpture entitled The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer seems more closely related to Realism. Like sculptors before him, Degas was interested in the movement of figures in space in his sculptures. The original wax version of this sculpture, complete with a wig, a silk hair ribbon, bodice, tutu, and slippers, was exhibited in the sixth Impressionist exhibition in None of his other sculptures were exhibited during his lifetime, and all of the bronze casts of his work were made after his death.
His sculptural work is now understood as avant-garde, and the sculpture is one of the best-known and best-loved sculptures of the nineteenth-century. There are currently twenty-eight known bronze casts of this sculpture in museums around the world.
After the death of the painter Gustave Courbet — , the style of Realism continued strongly in the realm of sculpture. Images of working-class people involved in their usually grueling labor were the subject of these works. The Grand Peasant — by Jules Dalou — is an excellent example of Realism in sculpture. Rather than showing a perfectly well-built and idealized male figure, Dalou presents us with a tired-looking, yet dignified laborer.
Only the figure of the peasant was completed at life size; the rest of the monument only exists in small maquettes and studies. However, the sculpture may have also been conceived as work independent of the monument. The heroism of the common man was beginning to take hold in this period. Public sculpture commissions for streets, public squares, and cemeteries reached a high point at the end of the nineteenth century in the United States.
One of the most prominent sculptors in America during this period was Augustus Saint-Gaudens — He created The Adams Memorial —91 as a funerary monument dedicated to the wife of the writer Henry Adams. Stanford White designed the architectural portion of the monument, which includes a exedra bench in rose-colored granite; Saint-Gaudens and White worked on numerous projects together, including the Farragut Monument and the revolving finial depicting the goddess Diana for the second Madison Square Garden —2.
The seated figure on the Adams Memorial is androgynous and thus seems to come from a more spiritual realm. Deep thought, mystery, and emotion were themes in Symbolist art that Saint-Gaudens successfully captured in this monument. It would also show how long the Neoclassical trend persisted in the United States. There are also some compositional and formal similarities and differences. Caterina Y. She is also a visiting associate professor at the Pratt Institute. Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Sculpture.
Jean-Antoine Houdon, George Washington , — Print: For a general outline of the works of the major sculptors and themes within sculpture from the period herein discussed, see George Duby and Jean-Luc Daval, eds. Web Resources: As the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York holds examples of artworks by all twelve of the artists selected for this lesson, their website at www.
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