Sculpture

I

Introduction

Sculpture (Latin, sculpere, “to carve”), the art of creating representational or abstract shapes, either in the round as free-standing sculpture or in relief sculpture. Usage, if not logic, tends to restrict the term today to objects considered to have some artistic merit so that shop dummies and even waxworks are generally excluded. Distinction is usually made between the sculpture and the “statue”, the latter term being normally confined to figures, life-size or over, in a public place.

II

Materials and Techniques

Sculpture can be made from almost any organic or inorganic substance. The processes specific to making sculpture date from antiquity and, up to the 20th century, underwent only minor variations. These processes can be classified according to materials—stone, metal, clay, and wood; the methods used are carving, modelling, and casting. In the 20th century the means available to the sculptor were extended by new techniques, such as welding and assemblage, and by new materials such as fibreglass and plastic.

Although sculpture has been popular with private buyers, its permanence and resilience have made it especially suitable as an art of public statement. Sculpture that we see today as independent work in museums was often made for an architectural context, for instance the Classical Greek carvings in the British Museum now sometimes known as the Elgin Marbles, which originally decorated the Athenian temple, the Parthenon (see Acropolis).

A

Carving

A procedure dating from prehistoric times, carving is a time-consuming and painstaking process in which the artist subtracts, or cuts away, superfluous material until the desired form is reached. The material is usually hard and frequently weighty; generally, the design is compact and is governed by the nature of the material. For example, the narrow dimensions of the marble block used by Michelangelo to carve his David (1501-1504, Accademia, Florence) strongly affected the pose and restricted the figure's outward movement into space.

Various tools are used, depending on the material to be carved and the state to which the work has progressed. In the case of stone, the rough first cutting to achieve the general shape may be performed by an artisan assistant using sharp tools; then the sculptor continues the work of cutting and chiselling. As work progresses, less penetrating tools are used, such as a bow drill and a rasp; finishing touches are carried out with fine rasps; then by rubbing with pumice or sand, and—if a great degree of smoothness is desired—by adding a transparent patina, made with an oil or wax base.

Just as the work of the painter is frequently dependent on preliminary drawings so the process of carving is often preceded by the making of models in wax or plaster. In the 19th century it was common to work from plaster to stone by means of a mechanical device known as a pointing machine. Much of the manual work could be done by studio assistants and it was possible to make enlargements from a smaller model. When this is bypassed, as was prevalent in the 20th century, it is normal to talk of “direct carving”. Because of the unpredictability of wood it was only practical to use the pointing machine for stone carving.

B

Modelling

Modelling consists of addition to, or building up of, form. The materials used are soft and yielding and can be easily shaped, enabling rapid execution. Thus, a sculptor can capture and record fleeting impressions in much the same way a painter does in a quick sketch. Clay or claylike substances (such as terracotta) have been used for modelling since ancient times. This must be baked or it will be too fragile to survive. Wax, which can be coloured, is another modelling material. Plaster, which can be hard or soft, can be worked by a combination of modelling and carving. Except in the case of very small pieces, a metal or wooden structure known as an armature is used for support.