Sculptures

Sculpture (lat. sculptura, sculpo — “I carve”), plastic art, sculpting is a type of fine art, in which the works have spatial characteristics, three-dimensional volume, materiality, and tangibility. The technologies for creating such works have changed over centuries, formed of several stages and were based on the sculptor’s creative potential and hard physical work. The term defines both the kind of art and a separate subject. Classification of the direction is complex and multicomponent. The round sculpture can be freely placed in space and allows the viewer to go around, examine it from all sides, and each point of view gives new views and impressions. Spatial art realistically conveys the surrounding reality, materializes objects, phenomena and the sculptor’s imagination. Plastic art improves the visual perception of human figures and material objects, but it copes worse with conveying the subject matter and background space.

The history of sculpture began back in primitive society with figures of people and animals, but it also brought aesthetic pleasure in the 21st century. An important stage in the development of plastic art was the period of antiquity, which gave humanity tangible images of a harmoniously developed person. In the period within 15—18th centuries, the sculptures illustrated the emotional and psychological state of the object, emphasized its location in the “unreal world”. In the 20th century, new materials, processing technologies and performance techniques expanded the range of the ancient art direction realisation. Throughout its development, sculpture moved along with architecture and painting, reflecting the cultural and social development of society, ideas and traditions of a particular era.

Art historians distinguish five types of sculptural works. Small plastic art includes figurines and amulets; the small-scale sculpture presents chamber figurines up to half a meter in the interior. Easel sculpture requires circular examination and corresponds to the natural object size. Works of monumental and decorative sculpture adorn the building pediments, parks, squares, fountains. Monuments and gravestones have become part of the architectural or thematic environment and constitute the monumental direction of this art form.

Portrait remains a traditional and widespread genre of sculpture: bust, mask, chamber or monumental statue. Auguste Rodin created a separate direction, which supposed sculpture of human body parts with no subjects employed. The images of animals belong to the animalistic genre.

Metal, wood, stone, clay, plaster are the materials used by sculptors. An artist chooses objects being in line with his plan and allows embodying the subject of inspiration in a realistic way. The creation of a sculpture includes drawing on paper and turning the idea into volume in sketch material: clay, plasticine or plaster. Today, sculptors use high-tech and non-traditional materials: mirrors, wire, textiles, and inflatable shapes. The sculpture became a carrier of artistic and aesthetic value, a way of emotional influence, which conveys the spirit and mood of the era.

Famous sculptures:
“Mourning of Christ” 1499, “David” 1504 by Michelangelo Buonarroti; “Cupid and Psyche” 1793 by Antonio Canova; “The Thinker” 1881; “The Burghers of Calais” 1881 by Auguste Rodin; “Old Age” 1898 by Anna Golubkina; “The Walking Man” 1960 by Alberto Giacometti; “The Orange Balloon Dog” 1990s by Jeff Koons.

Famous sculptors:
Michelangelo Buonarroti, Auguste Rodin, Antonio Canova, Alberto Giacometti, Fedot Shubin, Anna Golubkina.